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Curtain comes down on Zim PSL season

Ocean Mushure takes to the field for Dynamos Supplied

The curtain finally came down on the 2018 Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League season on Saturday as Dynamos ended their campaign in exactly the same fashion they had started it.

The Harare heavyweights fell to a disappointing 3-0 loss away at already relegated Nichrut, to end the campaign in 11th.

There was also no last-day luck for CAPS United, who drew 0-0 at home to Chapungu to finish eighth, having won just one of their final nine matches of the season.

Their poor form leaves coach Lloyd Mutasa's future looking anything but certain.

Chicken Inn managed to hold on to third after drawing 1-1 against surprise-package Triangle, who finished one point behind in fifth.

Promising striker Nicole Mutatiwa put the Game Cocks ahead just after the half-hour mark, only for Lameck Nhamo to level matters midway through the second-half with his 13th of the season.

Triangle ended the year in fourth, just a point behind Chicken Inn.

In other fixtures, Blessing Majarira and William Kapumha bagged a brace apiece to power Triangle to a 4-0 win over relegated Shabanie Mine.

Herentals had already comfortably survived relegation in their debut top-flight season before Saturday's win, which means they finish sixth with 51 points, the same as fifth-placed Highlanders.

Young striker Wilfred Muvirimi scored a 34th minute leveller as draw specialists Harare City came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Yadah, for whom Zvikomborero Bizeki had opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.

It was City's eighteenth draw of the campaign, and coach Mark Harrison will have to work on his team's inability to finish off matches if they are to become a credible force in the Premiership.

However, City did well to avoid reliving the relegation nightmares which haunted them for much of last season, finishing ninth in the standings.

Black Rhinos had a final matchday to remember after a 1-0 win over ZPC Kariba allowed them to leapfrog both City and CAPS into seventh place with 49 points.

Dynamos failed to give their fans the pleasant finish they needed after some harrowing experiences during the campaign, and Saturday's 3-0 loss to Nichrut should surely mean the inquest will begin immediately at Zimbabwe's most successful team.

Ironically, it was former player Rodrick Mutuma who twisted the knife with a goal either side of the break to put Nichrut 2-0 up. Ephraim Mwinga then grabbed a third five minutes from time after Dynamos had struggled to fashion any form of response.

The 21-time Zimbabwe champions have collected just 42 points from their 34 matches, and the club's hierarchy will be even more worried that their tally of 28 goals is less than the number of games they played.