Premier Soccer League pacesetters Chicken Inn’s head coach Joey Antipas has praised his side for executing well the plan to keep Ngezi Platinum playmaker Denver Mukamba after orchestrating a big win at Baobab Stadium on Saturday.
Attacking midfielder Brett Amidu scored two goals in the first half to help the 2015 champions record their first victory in Mhondoro-Ngezi since Ngezi Platinum joined the topflight league back in 2016.
Ngezi Platinum Stars had to play about an hour with one man less after McDonald Makuwe was shown a red card for excessive aggression towards Richard Hachiro.
Antipas attributed the win to the successful execution of the game plan yo stop Mukamba’s influence in the match.
“Our game plan was excellent. Our game plan was to nullify Denver (Mukamba) because Denver is the talisman, he makes them play, he makes them tick. So we managed to do and they didn’t play,” Antipas told journalists after the match.
Mukamba had very little influence on the match against a well-drilled defence that included captain Moses Jackson, Nelson Ketala and Xolani Ndlovu while Hachiro was emphatic in front of the backline.
The win also saw Chicken Inn go on a seven-match unbeaten run in the league as they sit top of the standings.
“I am very happy with our performances and results so we just need to maintain consistency. If we can’t get three points we pick up a point on the road but so far so good. It’s still early days and we just take each game as it comes,” Antipas said.
“I believe that we have a squad that can handle the scandal at the top because its important to handle the pressure at the top so I think that we are moving in the right direction
“Brett (Amidu) was superb he was definitely the man of the match. His ball distribution was excellent and his supporting play was good whenever he got a chance in and around the area he tried to shoot which is good for an attacking midfielder,” he added.