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OpenDynamos Derail FC Platinum's Title Charge
FC Platinum’s hope of clinching the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title has been shattered after they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Dynamos at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday.
League leaders Simba Bhora had earlier extended their advantage at the top of the table to nine points, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over CAPS United at Wadzanai Stadium on Saturday.
Following the MatchDay 31 fixtures, Simba Bhora have amassed an impressive 63 points, while FC Platinum, who occupy second place, have 54 points.
This means Simba Bhora now require at most one point from their remaining three matches to be crowned the 2024 PSL champions.
The match at Rufaro Stadium was decided by a two-minute blitz in the first half, with Emmanuel Ziocha and Valentine Kadonzvo finding the back of the net for Dynamos, leaving the Norman Mapeza-coached FC Platinum side stunned.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Dynamos coach Lloyd Chigowe revealed that they knew FC Platinum would be under immense pressure to score goals and secure the win to keep pace with Simba Bhora at the top of the table. He said:
We knew that FC Platinum would always come guns blazing. So, we allowed them to come forward and then we hit them on the counter and for sure we hit them.
We feel we could have done that on three or four occasions. But in the end, we played tactically good football, managed to absorb the pressure and lasted the distance, which was key for us.
This team has great potential if well-managed and, I think if all their welfare issues are attended to, and they don’t have any issues, I think they can go great guns against any side in this country.
You can see even the run that they had in the Confederation Cup, it proved that the performance today was not a fluke.
Mapeza conceded that his FC Platinum side failed to do enough to secure the win, as they struggled to create clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities throughout the match. He said:
We started well, but we gave away two soft goals. The first goal was a result of a mix-up from the set-piece and from that set-piece we ended up conceding.
The second goal was more of the same, pushing up and the offside trap wasn’t on. I think those were the only two moments that made us lose the game.
But overall, I thought in the second half we tried but we didn’t create enough opportunities.
But it’s a game of football. We have been fighting so hard since the start of the season and look where we are now.
I never thought we would be where we are today because we had so many issues along the way.
But I am proud of these boys. Some of these guys we played today, we brought them from Division One and already they are showing a lot of maturity.
So, I don’t have to blame the players for the loss. The guys worked so well; we just need to focus on the remaining three games.
Defending PSL champions Ngezi Platinum Stars are currently third in the league standings with 47 points, tied with Highlanders FC and Manica Diamonds FC. However, Ngezi Platinum Stars have a game in hand over their rivals.
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