They may have been going through a rough patch, but GreenFuel are not yet in the mood to throw in the towel in their quest to avoid Castle Lager Premier Soccer League relegation.
The Chisumbanje outfit remembered how to win yesterday with a 2-1 triumph over Chicken Inn, on a day when fellow relegation candidates Bikita Minerals fought tenaciously from behind to salvage a point off a 1-1 draw with former champions FC Platinum at Gibbo.
A last-minute penalty by Denzel Washington Mapuwa helped GreenFuel to complete a spirited comeback and claim the full points at the GreenFuel Arena.
Clive Rupiya had brought GreenFuel level on 77 minutes before Zimbabwe youth international Mapuwa struck the winner. Yet it was Chicken Inn who had surged ahead through Lincoln Mangaira's 49th-minute goal following a Gamecocks corner.
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GreenFuel assistant coach Godfrey Tamirepi was happy with the three points and believes the win could be their turning point in the fight for survival.
"It was a good performance from the boys. With a bit of luck and precision we could have gone to the half-time break leading by at least one goal," he said.
"We conceded early in the second half, but we kept on pushing and we were eventually rewarded with a very good goal from Clive and we got a penalty in the final stages of the game. I would like to applaud the boys for a good performance.
"We need to remain focused and keep working hard going into the final stretch of this marathon race. It's been long since we last collected maximum points and we believe this is our turning point as the win will bring the much-needed confidence going into the next match, which is a must win for us against MWOS on the road."
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas was disappointed with the defeat as his team failed to protect their second half lead.
"We deserved to get at least a point, but this is the nature of football where crazy things happen," he said. "We just need to go and fight another day. The only thing to do is to pick up points, win our games and continue believing as we look forward to our next game against Scottland."
Navaya leads TelOne charge
Herbert "Jompano" Maruwa guided his TelOne outfit to another victory on the road following a 2-1 triumph over Yadah Stars at The Heart Stadium to keep alive their dreams of a top-four finish.
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But 2023 champions Ngezi Platinum Stars will consider their 0-0 draw with Herentals a case of two pints dropped as they failed to close in on the leading pair of absent Simba Bhora and new leaders Scottland.
TelOne's Washington Navaya produced a top-notch performance, netting a late second half brace to add more woes on struggling Yadah Stars. Despite Yadah taking the lead via a Shingai Masukuta first-half goal and going on to create countless more chances, a lapse of concentration in the final seven minutes of regulation time got them punished as TelOne came from behind to snatch maximum points.
The loss means Yadah slide into 16th position on the 18-team log table, while TelOne move up to fifth place with 46 points to their name.
Maruwa heaped praise on his side for staging a spectacular fightback.
"It was a great game, the boys showed resilience and kept believing until the end, even when the opponents thought they had won and tried by all means to frustrate us, we kept cool heads and it paid off," he said.
Navaya's brace takes his tally to 15 goals so far this season, cementing his position as the favourite for the PSL Golden Boot accolade.
Yadah gaffer Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe felt he failed to manage the lead, hence his boys leaked in easy goals.
"It was a bad day at the office. We could not defend simple goals and I am disappointed because this is not the first time that we have let an opponent come from behind to beat us like this," he said.
"We have made our lives very difficult. We were supposed to win this because we created chances, but we wasted them until they created only two and converted both."
Jongwe, faced with pressure of the relegation battle, said his side needed to collect at least 10 points from the remaining five games if they were to survive the chop.
