Ngezi Platinum Stars coach, Tonderai Ndiraya, has expressed delight as his team collected maximum points with a 1-0 win over Harare City at Morris Depot in Harare on Sunday.
Ngezi Platinum Stars were awarded a penalty in the first half after striker, Donald Teguru, was brought down inside the box by Tigere. A 21st minute Quadar Amini penalty was enough to hand the visitors their second victory away from home.
“I’m happy with the three points, I’m happy with the defending in the second half, I thought Harare City came back a changed side, they controlled the second half. But what is key is that we scored and got three points and we look ahead to our next match.
“I’m happy with what the boys have put in, I’m happy with the fighting spirit, the fight to defend that solitary goal and in the end here we are we got three points away from home. This is our second win away from home and I’m happy. . .,” Ndiraya told journalists at a press conference.
However, Ndiraya, whose side have scored only nine goals in eight matches, bemoaned a host of chances which his team squandered in the first half.
“I thought we had a very good first half. We created a lot of opportunities [but] we failed to score. That’s what we have been doing (failing to score) in so many matches, playing so well particularly in the first half, creating chances, but at the end of the day, we don’t get as many goals as we would have wanted.
Ndiraya said Ngezi Platinum Stars, who are enjoying being at the top of the table with sixteen points, are not being carried away by their early fortunes and are looking to establish themselves as a force to reckon.
“It’s been quite difficult for us as a team. Look, our team is young, to stay at the summit of the log for this long is quite an achievement. But we are not thinking about the log at the moment, yes we are there, [but] we are thinking about getting as many points as we can as the season progresses.
“. . . I know the journey is still very long, the big teams are coming but I’m happy with what we have done so far. We have managed to hold our own and we look forward to the next matches and see what happens. We’ll just keep our focus [and] keep winning our games.
“I’m happy we have won two games on the trot but we would still demand a lot of consistency from the team if we want to stay at the top. It’s not easy to stay there but we’ll try to manage the situation and try to manage the results so that we stay there,” he said.
