Simba Bhora . . . . . . . . . . 0
FC Platinum . . . . . . . . (1) 2
Newly crowned premier league champions Simba Bhora's unbeaten home record at Wadzanayi Stadium came to an end after a defeat to FC Platinum yesterday.
Panashe Mutimbanyoka and Thando Ngwenya were on target as the Zvishavane side became the first team to get a win over the Tonderai Ndiraya- coached side in Shamva.
That put a blot on a day for Simba Bhora who were celebrating their maiden league title they clinched on Wednesday.
They will be handed the trophy at ZPC Kariba on the final day of the league season.
Ndiraya said he was disappointed that the defeat came on their final home game of the season.
"If there was one game that we knew we would probably lose, it was this one for various reasons," Ndiraya said.
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"I would have liked to play this game with a six -point gap between us and FC Platinum. we were going to get a different perfomance. But with a nine point cushion really, we knew it was going to be difficult. We played this game in a celebratory mood. "Since Wednesday the players have been celebrating, most of them never slept so it was difficult for us to motivate them. It's difficult for a coach to motivate a team that has won the league title already, and you want them to perform at their optimum level against a team like Fc Platinum.'
Fc Platinum coach Norman Mapeza said he was happy that they managed to complete a double over the champions as well as breaking their home record.
The win also confirmed FC Platinum’s second place finish this year.
"This was a massive win for us," Mapeza said. "I'm happy, the performance and everything was there. I'm proud of these boys, they work so hard. They have been working hard the whole season unfortunately we at times got bad results. We were in control of the match, we defended well and attacked well. We were brilliant today."
Mutimbanyoka benefited from a Simba Bhora defensive mistake to put the visitors into an early lead after just three minutes.
Fc Platinum were in total control of possession early on, and Ngwenya should have doubled their lead when another defensive blunder allowed him to run through but he could not beat the outdrawn Simba Bhora goalkeeper Simba Chinani.
Ndiraya tweaked his team at the start of the second half and the team responded by taking the game to their opponents.
Halftime substitute Wilson Mensah hit the crossbar twice as Simba sought for an equaliser.
The former Triangle forward then missed a sitter when he fluffed a cutback from fellow substitute Ishamel Nyanhi.
That glaring miss was punished almost immediately when FC Platinum countered.
Ngwenya expertly beat an offside trap to run clear in goal and toe-poked the ball past the exposed Chinani to seal the win.
The defeat however failed to dampen the celebratory mood in the stands. A lap of honour followed the final whistle as the home fans serenaded their heroes for a fantastic and historic achievement.
Teams
Simba Bhora: S Chinani, W Tafa, I Mauchi (W Mensah, 46'), B Moyo, R Kangadzi (I Nyanhi, 46'), T Chipunza (P Chikwende, 71'), J Makunike (A Manenji, 46'), M Msebe (B Veremu, 80', W Musona, V Kawe, T Machope.
FC Platinum: D Bizabani, B Nzori, R Pavari, K Mangiza, M Ngwenya, D Mhindirira, S Mhlanga, H Magaya, P Mutimbanyoka, T Ngwenya.
