Former Shabanie Mine midfielder and coach John Phiri returned to Maglas stadium on Sunday to dent the Chinda Boys hopes of winning the championship after guiding  Midlands State University to a 1-1 draw.

Phiri who made his name as a player at Shabanie Mine before guiding them back into the premiership in 2010 as a coach, left the club’s fans dejected after MSU snatched a second half equaliser. The result greatly aided Blanket Mine who managed to open a two point lead ahead of the Chinda Boys after edging ZRP Gwanda 1-0. Some unruly Shabanie Mine fans reacted by pelting the MSU team bus with missiles, smashing windows.

Phiri said he had no hard feelings over the results as he was merely doing his job, without looking at his roots.

“I am employed by MSU who expect results from me. Actually I was hard pressed to collect at least a point getting into this match. My being a former Shabanie coach doesn’t really matter because I am a professional coach,” said Phiri.