Highlanders FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0)1
Caps United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)1
Highlanders stretched their winless run in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League to seven matches after they were held to a stalemate by an equally struggling Caps United at Barboufields Stadium yesterday.
Bosso's last victory was on September 17 when they dismissed Yadah Stars 2-0 at home. They have drawn four matches in succession and are now eight points behind the log leaders Ngezi Platinum who lost 1-0 away to Hwange, with four matches remaining.
A point was crucial for Caps United's survival hopes as they moved to 38 points, five above the drop zone.
The visitors took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of a brilliant strike by veteran Rodwell Chinyengetere. He silenced the Bosso faithfuls with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box which beat Ariel Sibanda in goals for Highlanders all systems out. The goal rates among the best witnessed at BF.
Not to be outdone, Bosso equalised in the 59th minute courtesy of a Mason Mushore stinger, which was also a goal of high quality. The former Golden Eagles midfielder fired from outside the box after Caps lost possession in their own half. Goalkeeper Ashley Reyners was rendered a spectator as the ball nestled into the far corner to send the Bosso fans into delirium.
Bosso should have won the game towards the end when substitute Washington Navaya produced what could go down as the miss of the season. He was played through by Elshamar Farasi, coming face to face with Reyners. The striker maintained his composure but fired a weak effort which was easily dealt with by a diving Reyners.
- CAPS United dismiss player strike reports
- Big send-off for Cont Mhlanga
- Inside sport: The right way to do it
- CAPS United rob Wha Wha
Keep Reading
Eventually both teams settled for a draw, which was satisfactory for the visitors as alluded to by Caps United coach Lloyd Chitembwe.
“I thought it was a very good point. A little bit disappointed, I feel we had the match wrapped up. But we knew it's never easy to play Highlanders especially at BF. We were aware that for such matches, it goes down to the finer details. For the first time we really wanted to control the game and we did that in the first half,” Chitembwe said.
Bosso coach Jose Baltemar Brito felt his charges should have converted the chances that came their way in the second half.
"This is the first time in my life to face such a situation, draw, draw, lose... If you assess the game, in the first half Caps United had one shot on target and one goal. In the second half, we were better. We played well, we were all over them and created more chances but unfortunately, we scored only one. That's football,” Brito said.
“Sometimes it's hard to explain. We had the chances to win the game in the second half. We didn't unfortunately, we accept the draw because we want to finish in the best possible position on the log.”
