The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Reporter
MANICA Diamonds have performed exceptionally well to win 16 matches and draw twice in the 18 rounds of 2018 Zifa Eastern Region Division One League matches played so far but they are yet to smash the record set by Buffaloes in 2011, Zifa has said.
An unsubstantiated message, attributed to a local veteran sportscaster, congratulating coach Luke Masomere for breaking the record of the number of unbeaten matches in the league, went viral on social media platforms recently.
“Congratulations to Luke Masomere coached Manica Diamonds for breaking the previous longest unbeaten run by a team in all the three regions of the First Division by making it 17 games. The previous record had been set by Moses Chunga coached Chiredxi FC who went on a 15 match unbeaten streak in 2015 and went on to win the Eastern Region Division One League title to gain promotion into the Premier League,” reads the message.
However, it might have been a case of sheer ignorance on the part of the author of the message as Mutare army side Buffaloes went all the way to winning the Eastern Region Division One title without tasting defeat in 2011.
Zifa Eastern Region chairman also concurred that the Gem Boys have performed exceptionally well to win 16 matches and draw twice in the 17 rounds of 2018 Zifa Eastern Region Division One League matches played so far but they are yet to smash the record set by Buffaloes in 2011.
Buffaloes won all but four matches of the season that they settled for draws and lost the final match of the season against Prime Rangers.
Manica Diamonds can only break that record by winning all their remaining matches.
The Gem Boys can also settle for a draw once more and win all the other remaining matches, to take their tally of draws to three and even lose one match, if they entertain hopes of breaking the record that Buffaloes set.
“I think Manica Diamonds have performed exceptionally well to win 16 matches and draw twice in the 18 rounds of 2018 Zifa Eastern Region Division One League matches played so far but as Zifa we wish to set the record straight by confirming that they are yet to smash the record set by Buffaloes in 2011.
“Buffaloes drew four times, lost the final match of the season and won the rest of their matches that season. They had 25 wins, one loss and four draws. The only other team to have come close after that was Triangle in 2012 that remained unbeaten in 27 matches and only lost one match to Sethio but drew in more than four matches,” said Muchena.
