Oscar Rusenga in Triangle
Triangle FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)1
Rusitu Tigers FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Triangle United are back in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League after clinching the Zifa Eastern Region Division One league at Gibbo yesterday.
With a healthier goal difference against joint-leaders, Wangu Mazodze, Triangle knew they just needed three points yesterday to complete a remarkable comeback in a contest they once trailed by 14 points.
To ease the pressure, the hosts stormed into a first-minute lead
Triangle scored their fastest goal of the season inside the opening 37 seconds when Rusitu Tigers defenders failed to deal with Carlos Musimwa's long throw-in before Munashe Bamara scored to raise decibels in a fully packed Gibbo Stadium.
Triangle dominated the first half with veteran Ali Sadiki dictating pace in the middle of the park but they failed to utilise their opportunities.
The second half was different as the visitors took the game to the hosts.
Triangle played the entire second half on the backfoot as Rusitu Tigers demonstrated they are not pushovers with some slick moves as they played without pressure.
Triangle, however, managed to protect their lead as veteran midfielder and team captain Thabani Kamusoko kept his charges switched on seeing through the game.
The game was a milestone for veteran striker Nhamo Lameck who played the last game of his career and earned his last medal as a player.
Interestingly Lameck was part of the late Gishon Ntini coached Triangle side, which was promoted back in 2012 when he was a top goalscorer.
The 37-year-old pint-sized striker is now undergoing coaching clinics.
"I am happy with today's win, I came out of retirement when I learned that Triangle were relegated. I have been out of football for two years but decided to come back and help the team which made me who I am today.
"I am hanging my boots for the second time but I will still be involved in football as I have already enrolled in some coaching classes.
"I would love to see my beloved team do well in the coming season and add a few more silverware to what we already have in the cabinet.
"I am proud that at Triangle I have managed to win two division one league titles, Netone OneWallet Cup and Chibuku Super Cup and I hope the team can go for the big one", said Lameck.
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Triangle coach Luke Masomere was very happy at the final whistle after achieving what most people thought was impossible. Masomere replaced Arthur Tutani when the team was trailing by 17 points but overturned the deficit to win the championship with goal difference.
"I am very happy with what we have achieved as Triangle, today marks the beginning of a new era for the club. Of course, today's game was very difficult, we played against a very good team which was just playing for bragging rights whilst we had pressure to win. We made a lot of mistakes but we managed to hold on to our lead", said Masomere.
Triangle United's new chairman Weston Jemwa, who took over from Lovemore Matikinyidze when the team was relegated, was happy with the impact that his new executive had on the progress of the team.
Jemwa also took time to give credit to the supporters, sponsors, and the former club leadership for the advice and the role they played in the smooth transition of the club.
"We are excited to be back in the Premiership after just one year in division one. We faced a lot of challenges along the way, it was a very tough season with all eighteen teams fighting for pole position.
"We had a false start but we made some tough decisions which paid off, we had to replace our technical team and we brought in Luke Masomere.
"When he joined I had a feeling that we still had a chance and also predicted that the league might be decided on goal difference hence we incentivised winning goals to motivate our boys to score more goals and the decision just paid off.
"We are now champions on goal difference and today we will celebrate our success", Jemwa said.
