Howard Musonza
Head-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE fairytale unbeaten run of MWOS in their debut Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign came to a dramatic halt at Baobab Stadium on Saturday, as they suffered a bruising 3-1 defeat at the hands of a fired-up Ngezi Platinum Stars.
The result not only marked MWOS’ first loss in 17 matches but also saw them surrender top spot to defending champions Simba Bhora at the halfway stage of the 2025 season.
Ironically, Baobab is the very ground where MWOS had announced their arrival in top-flight football earlier this year with a famous win over Highlanders. Back then, their home base, Ngoni Stadium, was still under renovation, and they had adopted Baobab as their temporary fortress.
But yesterday, that same ground bore witness to the end of a gallant run, 9 wins, 7 draws and now, finally, a defeat.
MWOS found themselves trailing within just three minutes. They failed to deal with a corner from Ashwin Karengesha, and although goalkeeper Martin Mapisa produced two brilliant saves in the chaos that followed, the ball broke kindly for Ngezi captain Obriel Chirinda, who slotted home from close range to draw first blood. In a tired opening spell, MWOS’s makeshift defence, missing suspended starters Tinotenda Mutyambizi and Valentine Katsande, looked disjointed. Chirinda, a constant menace, carved through them again in the 7th minute, but Karengesha fired over from inside the box after Mapisa’s second spill.
MWOS did claw their way back into the contest in the 19th minute. Arthur Banda’s persistence on the right flank was rewarded when his pressured cross was turned in by Billy Veremu, who outjumped Polite Moyo and Talent Chamboko to nod home the equaliser. It was Veremu’s 10th goal of the season, a tally that brings him level with TelOne striker Washington Navaya atop the scoring charts.
However, that was as good as it got for the visitors.
The turning point came in the 56th minute. A poorly cleared corner fell to Karengesha just outside the area, and the midfielder made no mistake, unleashing a thunderbolt that flew past Mapisa and into the top corner to restore Ngezi’s lead.
Things went from bad to worse for MWOS as referee Patrick Kalota waved away what looked a stonewall penalty in the 70th minute after Gomezagni Chirwa appeared to handle a cross from Jeremiah Makangairwa.
Two minutes later, Chirinda sealed the deal with his second of the day and third of the season, when he outpaced Innocent Zambezi on the right channel, cut inside and fired in from a tight angle past a despairing Mapisa.
Speaking after the match, MWOS coach Lloyd Mutasa accepted the result with grace but hinted at underlying frustration.
“We knew one day that such a result would come, because such is football,” said Mutasa. “But I want to applaud my charges for holding on until today. It’s part and parcel of football, we get beaten, but it is not the end of the world.”
He admitted that his side never really got going.
“We started slowly, conceding under three minutes, and we were a bit shaky. They could have even scored another during that time. We failed to come into the groove in time, eventually we were never there. We were not ourselves today.”
Ngezi coach Takesure Chiragwi lauded his players for finally converting good performances into goals.
“This was the right time for us to get goals,” Chiragwi said. “We’ve been playing well but just not scoring. Today, we played a very good team on a brilliant run, it wasn’t easy. They really wanted to finish the first round unbeaten.”
“I’m proud of the boys. We scored three goals for the first time this season, and we collected maximum points. This is the kind of performance we’ve been building towards.”
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The post MWOS’ invincibility crumbles at Baobab . . . After 16 unbeaten games, PSL debutants MWOS finally taste defeat appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.