AN ill-advised substitution and a well-timed one turned yesterday’s Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match in Highlanders’ favour against Ngezi Platinum and propelled them to the top of the league table.
After bravely holding their own against Bosso for more than an hour, Ngezi Platinum coach Tonderayi Ndiraya made a double substitution in the 65th minute; taking out Qadr Amin and Dominic Mukandi for Tichaona Mabvura and Donald Teguru. He then abandoned his compact 3-5-2 formation in favour of a 4-3-3 system, but his world collapsed on him as the two players failed to cope with the formation.
Bosso coach Erol Akbay pulled out his best player on view Allen Gahadzikwa and threw in veteran Ralph Matema three minutes later and the whole puzzle fell into place as they started dictating the pace and it was only a matter of time before the goal came.