Caps United . . . . . . . . . (0) 0

Hwange . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1

A section of rowdy Caps United hooligans threw missiles at club director Farai Jere while hurling insults towards under-fire coach Moses Chunga as the Green Machine lost 1-0 to an impressive Hwange in a Castle Lager Premiership soccer match at the National Sports Stadium on Wednesday.

It was not clear last night if Chunga would hold on to his job after the latest defeat.

With 10 minutes of play still left on the clock the Caps United fans started charging towards the VIP enclosure where Jere was sitting, demanding that he fire Chunga who they accused of being a Dynamos supporter.

It took the swift intervention from members of the police to disperse the irate fans and diffuse what could have potentially turned out to be a nasty situation for all fans sitting in the VIP enclosure.

A visibly shaken Chunga who had watched his side succumb to a fourth defeat in nine matches and second on the trot, refused to speak to the media after the match.

“Speak to the winning coach (Tenant Chilumba), otherwise I have no comment,” was his response when asked to comment about his team’s performance.

Pressure had already been mounting for the Caps United gaffer who last week watched his side lose to rivals Highlanders.

Away from the chaos Hwange were worthy winners in the end with their goal coming straight from the kickoff after the restart courtesy of a close-range strike from lanky forward Tongai Mangwendere.

The former Gunners striker pounced on a loose ball in the Caps United box after a goalmouth scramble in the 46th minute to blast the ball past an exposed Muzondiwa Gonese, who had done well to initially block Gilbert Zulu’s shot.

An ecstatic Hwange coach Chilumba said his players had played according to instruction which he said was the reason why they picked up three points.

“We came here for three points and credit to the boys from playing according to the game plan. We looked at the formation of Caps and I told my boys to sit back and defend well.

“We were playing away from home and they pressurised them well in the middle of the park which worked in our favour as we started getting more of the ball,” said the Zambia mentor.

Hwange’s win saw them move to 10th position on 13 points and within a point of Caps United, who dropped to eighth position on the log with 14 points.

After a positive start in which Evans Gwekwerere and joint top scorer Simba Sithole created some good chances, Caps United never looked like they would win this game as Hwange always seemed very solid in defence.

The Hwange defence was marshalled by Gerald Ndhlovu and Aaron Katebe, while the midfield hassled their counterparts thereby strangling the supply of clean balls.

After holding on in the first half Hwange came back from the break a determined side which resulted in the goal from their first move after the dreadlocked Nkosana Siwela curled in a harmless-looking ball which the Caps United defenders failed to clear.

Gonese had done well to block Zulu’s initial shot but had no chance when Mangwendere reacted faster to blast home from close range.

Chunga brought in Pride Tafirenyika and Ghanaian import Frank Adu for ineffective Marvel Samaneka and Godknows Mangani, but this did not yield the desired results as Hwange held on for a crucial win.

With Hwange defending very well, chances were very few and far between for Caps United, who never tested the highly-rated Timothy Sibanda throughout the match as he was limited to routine saves.

Caps United: M Gonese, S Alimenda, A Chivheya, G Mungani (P Tafirenyika 59th min), G Mapemba, N Mukumbi, D Rediyoni (W Pakamisa 71st min) M Samaneka (F Addu 59th min), S Sithole, D Walaza, E Gwekwerere.

Hwange: T Sibanda, T Sibelo, M Mungadze, G Ndhlovu, A Katebe, A Chuma, N Siwela, R Chinyengetere, G Zulu, T Mangwendere (F Zekumbawire 68th min), S Dube (W Mhango 64th min).

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