HARARE – Walter Musona’s 76th-minute spot kick rescued a point for Scottland at Rufaro Stadium on Friday after they trailed Ngezi Platinum Stars following a howler by their goalkeeper early in the second half.
Darlington Murasiranwa in goal for Ngezi guessed right, but Musona’s well-struck penalty flew past his outstretched right hand.
The penalty was awarded after Moses Shidolo was brought down in the box as Scottland dominated late on in search of an equaliser.
After a goalless opening half, Farai Madhanaga won the ball near the centre circle shortly after the restart and surged forward.
Scottland shot-stopper Nelson Chadya appeared to be fully behind the ball after Madhanaga let fly, but it trickled through his legs and into the net.
It was defending champions Scottland’s second drawn match at the start of the 2026 season, while Ngezi — who were 2-1 winners over FC Platinum on the opening day — went top of the league with four points ahead of the weekend’s full match programme.
Despite the slow start, new Scottland coach Norman Mapeza is not panicking.
“I’m happy with the progress that we are making as a team. In some moments, our decision-making could have been better, but all the same, it’s the start of the season and I’m satisfied with the progress we are making,” he said.
Ngezi coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva acknowledged areas for improvement, but was disappointed with the way they conceded the penalty.
“We started well, but we didn’t defend some moments better and on the penalty we could have done better defending it. We also felt hard done by as it was a soft penalty, maybe the referee could have been more lenient,” he said.
Here are the outstanding weekend fixtures:
Saturday
Simba Bhora vs FC Hunters (Wadzanayi), Chicken Inn vs Triangle (Barbourfields), MWOS vs TelOne (Ngoni Stadium), FC Platinum vs Manica Diamonds (Mandava), ZPC Kariba vs Hardrock (Nyamhunga)
Sunday
Dynamos vs Highlanders (Rufaro Stadium), Agama vs Bulawayo Chiefs (Wadzanayi Stadium, Shamva)
