Scottland Draw Again, Still Wait For First Goal From Open Play

The star-studded and heavily-invested Scottland are still searching for their first goal from open play after settling for a 1-1 draw against Ngezi Platinum Stars at Rufaro Stadium on Friday afternoon in the 2026 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) season.

Walter Musona’s 76th-minute penalty rescued a point for Scottland following a costly error by their goalkeeper early in the second half. The spot-kick came after Moses Shidolo was brought down in the box as Scottland pressed for an equaliser late in the game.

After a goalless first half, Farai Madhanaga won possession near the centre circle shortly after the restart and surged forward. Scottland keeper Nelson Chadya seemed well-positioned to block the shot, but the ball trickled through his legs and into the net.

The reigning champions had also drawn their opening match of the season, a 0-0 stalemate against newcomers Hardrock at Chawanda Stadium in Kwekwe last weekend.

Despite the slow start, new Scottland coach Norman Mapeza remains calm and is not hitting the panic button. He said:

“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.”

Ngezi, who opened the season with a 2-1 win over FC Platinum, went top of the league with four points ahead of the weekend’s full slate of matches.

Coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva admitted there are areas the team still needs to improve on, but expressed disappointment over how they gave away the penalty. He said:

“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.”

Here are the remaining Matchday Two 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).