HARARE – Golden Eagles atoned for their failure to win the Northern Region Soccer League championship title by lifting the Axis Super 8 Cup with a 2-0 win over rivals Simba Bhora in an exciting match at Rufaro stadium on Saturday.
After having missed out on the league title which was eventually won by Simba Bhora, Golden Eagles reserved their best for the premier cup tournament in the league, putting up a vintage second half performance which saw Raymond Muchena and Aaron Zeka getting the goals.
Uchena put Eagles into the lead with a firm header sixteen minutes to fulltime before Zeka sealed the victory after breaking through in optional time to torch wild celebrations among the Gondo Harishayi fans.
Golden Eagles coach Gilbert Mushangazhike felt the win was a consolation after losing out on the league title.
“I’m happy that we have something to give to our fans and the executive to savour after missing out on the big one, the league title. I’m happy that we executed our game plan very well and we managed to stick to it up to the end of the match,” Mushangazhike said.
“We created a lot of chances in the first half which we should have executed. But all the same I’m happy with the performance of the players because they were technically superior.”
The late Simba Bhora midfielder Barnabas Mushunje who died in a car accident in June was honoured posthumously after being named the Player of the Tournament which carried a US$500 prize.
Mushangazhike got US$400 for being the Coach of the Tournament while Raymond Uchena and Tinashe ‘Maswera’ Balakasi shared the Golden Boot after scoring two goals each.
Munyaradzi Diya who turned back the hands of time with a superb performance in the final was voted the Goalkeeper of the Tournament and got US$300 while Tadiwa Chibuwe was named Man of the Match after steering Eagles to victory with a stellar performance and pocketed US$100.
Axis Solutions Marketing and Customer Care Officer Kesiya Chitete said they were thrilled by the level of competition in the final and promised a bigger tournament next year.
“This was a real climax to the tournament. As Axis Solutions we are really happy with the level of competition and enthusiasm that we have seen from the start of the tournament up to the final. The final really lived up to it’s billing,”Chitete said.
“This was our first tournament in the Northern Region Soccer League and we promise a bigger tournament next year. Also what is of paramount importance is our health services to the communities we operate in. As Axis Solutions we value the health of our nation and we will continue to provide our services to the people.”
- NRSL Times
