Mapeza Sees Red In FC Platinum Defeat, CAPS Draw Again

FC PLATINUM coach Norman Mapeza endured a nightmarish afternoon after being sent to the stands in the first half as his side succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Bulawayo Chiefs in a rescheduled Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at Luveve Stadium on Sunday.

With his side already trailing courtesy of Mthokozisi Msebe’s sixth minute header from a Perfect Chikwende cross, things went from bad to worse for Mapeza when he was shown a red card for dissent in the 33rd minute.

Mapeza was given his marching orders after questioning the referee’s decision after his goalkeeper Petros Mhari was penalized for a professional foul after his attempt to dribble a striker failed.

In fact Mhari was lucky to only receive a yellow card after bringing down Bulawayo Chiefs striker Obriel Chirinda.

After going to the break with a slender 1-0 lead, Chiefs strengthened their grip on the match when Chirinda converted a penalty soon after the restart.

There was some drama in the 77th minute when the referee stopped play after realising that Bulawayo Chiefs had 12 players on the field of play.

Bulawayo Chiefs played for at least three minutes with an extra infield player after a mix-up during a substitution before the FC Platinum fans alerted the referee who was unaware of the mistake.

In the end Chiefs held on for a famous win against the reigning champions as their decision to invest in experienced players during the PSL Afcon break yielded immediate success.

The win lifts Bulawayo Chiefs to third position on seven points from three matches, a point ahead of FC Platinum who are in fourth position.

Meanwhile in another rescheduled Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Sakubva troubled CAPS United wasted a good opportunity to register their first win of the season after conceding a late equaliser in a one-all draw against Black Rhinos.

CAPS appeared to have put their off field problems aside when new signing William Manondo put them in the lead in the third minute. Rhinos however refused to give up and were eventually rewarded with a late equaliser in the 82nd minute. The result means CAPS United remain winless after drawing each of their first three matches.