FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza has refused to blame anyone but himself for his charges’ poor run of form, after they extended their winless run to five matches.
The defending champions’ woes continue, after they were beaten by Premiership debutants Simba Bhora in a lively encounter at Mandava Stadium today.
Mapeza, for the umpteenth time, put on a brave face after the game and insisted the platinum miners are still in the title race and will revive their title defence.
“I think it’s the same story as what happened last week. We are playing some good football, but conceding soft goals,” Mapeza told the media.
“Well-done to my boys, they worked so hard and congratulations to Simba Bhora. They (Simba) came here and managed to get the three points.
“For us, we don’t have to give up, we still have to fight and it’s still game on.
“There were so many positives in today’s game, but I don’t want to fault anybody. At the end of the day, I’m the coach, if you are talking about results, it’s about me, not anybody else,” he added.
The former Warriors captain urged his troops to remain united.
“Like I said, we don’t have to give up, we are in a very difficult situation and like I said last week, it’s about us, we have to be united to see off this situation we are in,” said Mapeza.
Simba Bhora took an early lead through Tinashe Balakasi in the 6th minute before Nomore Chinyere restored parity for the home side eight minutes later.
Tymon Machopa then restored Simba’s lead just after the hourmark, to the delight of their head coach Tonderai Ndiraya, who insisted his side won against a good team.
“No one gave us a chance but that is football. But apart from the win, FC Platinum are a good side to be honest, they play good football” said Ndiraya.
“They have got everything that you want in a team, they have quality players and a very good coach.
“So when you win against such a good team, you find some joy. It was a difficult match, I must admit. As always, FC Platinum will always dominate you, they did that.
“Then we scored the first goal, I thought we were a bit strong aerially and that’s how we got the two goals,” added Ndiraya.