IT took a second half penalty for Chicken Inn to unlock a resilient Hwange and record a 1-0 victory in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Luveve Stadium on Thursday.

Chicken Inn dominated play in the first half but could not deflate the Hwange defence and got the breakthrough on the half hour mark when striker Ishmael Lawe was hacked inside the box by Hwange defender Wilfred Murweyi.

Passmore Bernard took the responsibility converting from the spot giving the reigning champions three points that pushed them to seventh position on the log standings.

In a sign that Chicken Inn coach Rahman Gumbo intended on holding onto the slender lead, he introduced Warriors defender Teenage Hadebe for Nicholas Muchadeyi immediately after his team went ahead.

The absence of Hwange top goal scorer Gift Mbweti who was serving a one match suspension affected their attacking options, at least according to coach Mebelo Njekwa.

“Our strikers were not mobile, the absence of Mbweti affected our movement upfront, the strikers were static.

“We are playing to survive relegation and should collect three points in every match. Preparations for our next match against ZPC Kariba will begin as soon as we get to Hwange.

“The tendency has been to collect points when playing at home so we must work on improving our away record,” said Njekwa.

Chicken Inn gaffer Rahman Gumbo reckons the contribution of veteran midfielder Clemence Matawu remains vital to the overall performance of the team.

“Clemence is an intelligent player and coupled with experience, he plays an important role in the team.

“The other players around him do the dirty work and he does his creative bit,” he said.

Turning to the match Gumbo appeared bullish that it was given his team would triumph over the visitors.

“It was a case of how many goals we would score. We knew they had come for a draw so it was just a matter of unlocking their defence.”