By Flata Kavinga
Hardrock FC suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Triangle United FC in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played behind closed doors at Chahwanda Stadium in Kwekwe on Sunday.
The fixture was played without spectators following a Premier Soccer League disciplinary sanction imposed after crowd disturbances and pitch invasions disrupted Hardrock’s previous home match against Dynamos FC.
Triangle took control of the match with goals from Thabani Kamusoko and Steven Zhogi before Prince Dube pulled one back for the hosts. However, Hardrock could not find an equaliser despite creating several scoring opportunities.
The result reversed the outcome of the first-round meeting between the two sides, when Hardrock secured a 1-0 away victory over Triangle.
Speaking after the match, Hardrock head coach Kelvin Kaindu said conceding two goals early made it difficult for his side to recover.
“I think football being football, out of nothing they got their first goal. Again, out of nothing they got their second goal and it was going to be difficult for us to come back into the game,” said Kaindu.
“We tried everything to come back. We had two disallowed goals and a number of chances. It just showed that it wasn’t our day.”
Kaindu said his players showed determination despite the setback but acknowledged that playing without supporters may have disadvantaged the home side.
“We missed the support of our fans, the 12th player. Our opponents also played without a crowd but we were the home team and would have benefited from our supporters. The painful thing is losing to a team that is at the bottom of the table,” he said.
Triangle head coach Genesis Mangombe praised his team’s disciplined display, saying the players executed their game plan well against one of the league’s top-five sides.
“Playing away from home against a team in the top five means we did our homework very well. I am happy with the way we created chances and managed to punish them,” said Mangombe.
He described the victory as a positive step in the team’s campaign and said his side would continue working hard to improve its position on the league table.
“It is a work in progress. We will take each game as it comes and try to collect maximum points. We know the gap in the relegation zone is still big, so we need to keep working hard,” he said.
