FC PLATINUM........... (0)1
GREEN FUEL.............(0)0
NORMAN Mapeza heaved a huge sigh of relief after FC Platinum ended their winless streak, beating Green Fuel 1-0 in a low key Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Mandava stadium yesterday.
Captain of the day, Rainsome Pavari was the hero after scoring the solitary goal of the match.
FC Platinum last won on 1 April when they beat Herentals 1-0 in the capital.
Their following match against Caps United was abandoned after crowd trouble. Pure Platinum uncharacteristically went on to pick two points out of a possible 12 after recording two draws and two losses.
They drew with Arenel Movers and Bikita Minerals before losing to ZPC Kariba and Manica Diamonds. Mapeza's men have now moved to 15 points and the veteran coach is a relieved man.
"We were having a very bad phase. It's part of football to go through such a phase. We had to work hard and get maximum points and then maybe we can build from there. We are coming from a difficult phase. Pavari played well and today it's his first league goal for us as a club. He was the captain and he did it. Green Fuel never gave us scary moments in this game," Mapeza said.
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Green Fuel dominated the early exchanges but were hamstrung after ten minutes when they were forced to alter their defense after Brian Chikwenya was injured.
He was replaced by Chris Ngwende. There was nothing to write home about, particularly in the first half as both teams lacked sting.
However, the second half was a different affair as FC Platinum turned on the screws, launching attack after attack.
And their pressure paid dividend in the 58th minute when Rainsome Pavari scored after Green Fuel failed to clear their lines from a corner-kick.
Pavari had the time to control the ball before darting it home from inside the box, past a forest of legs as Green Fuel defenders tried to block the effort.
Green Fuel stand-in coach Innocent Chogugudza was reserved in his comments.
"We lost but we gave a good fight. The players applied themselves very well. We could have utilised one of the opportunities that we got. We move on to the next match. It was a tight contest," he said.
