FAITH NDOU
MASVINGO-Rufaro Starlets Football Club suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to Mpopoma Sports Academy in their opening match of the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League season played at Mucheke Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the loss, Rufaro Starlets showed promise particularly in the first half where they dominated proceedings and looked the more dangerous side.
Playing with confidence and energy, the hosts controlled possession and created several scoring opportunities, but struggled to convert their chances into goals.
Their early dominance, however, failed to yield a significant advantage, allowing Mpopoma Sports Academy to regroup and come back stronger in the second half.
The visitors capitalised on defensive lapses and displayed clinical finishing, scoring three goals to seal a convincing victory.
Rufaro Starlets managed to pull one goal back but it was not enough to change the outcome, as Mpopoma maintained control and saw out the match.
After the match, Rufaro Starlets head coach Langton Giwa acknowledged his side’s shortcomings particularly in front of goal and at the back.
“It is our first game in the Premier League. We had the upper hand in the first half but wasted chances. In the second half, Mpopoma Sports Academy utilised the mistakes from our defence. We are going to work on that in our next fixture against Rise of Hope Academy in Gweru,” he said.
On the other hand, Mpopoma Sports Academy head coach Evans Netha praised his players’ resilience and tactical discipline after a difficult start.
“First games are always difficult, but thanks to the good game from Rufaro. They dominated the first half but in the second half we managed to overcome them, maybe due to the experience of the players that we have. The element of tactical discipline we applied worked for us. They were kicking the ball upfront and we worked on that and we won,” said Netha.
“Going forward, there are a lot of mistakes we made that we need to work on. Our next game is against Chapungu FC at home and it’s going to be a difficult game.”
Mpopoma Sports Academy who joined the Zimbabwe Women’s Premier Soccer League last season, finished sixth in their debut campaign with 32 points from 36 matches.
The result marks a tough start for Rufaro Starlets in their maiden top-flight appearance, leaving them sitting 14th out of 16 teams on the log.
However, their first-half performance offers encouragement as they look to bounce back in their upcoming fixtures.
Other Results:
Rise of Hope Academy 0-3 Correctional Queens.
CAPS United Royals 1-1 Black Rhinos Queens.
Chapungu Queens 8-0 Ngezi Platinum Queens.
Faith Drive Academy 3-1 Cranborne Royals.
Harare City Queens 1-1 Herentals Queens.
Kwekwe Queens 1-0 Chegutu Community Queens.
Conduit Soccer Academy 2-4 Platinum Royals.
