Ngezi Platinum piled the misery on troubled giants Highlanders with a 3-0 win on what turned out to be a productive day for the title rivals in the Zimbabwe Premier League.
Second-place Ngezi had gone into matchday 23 needing to show strength of character after the stunning 3-0 reverse away to CAPS last week, and they did exactly that as double scorer Tichaona Mabvura struck either side of a Terence Dzvukamanja effort to set up a comfortable win for the miners.
After a tale of missed chances early on, Mabvura took advantage of some confusion in the opposition box to put Ngezi ahead moments before the break.
Any hopes of a second-half revival for Highlanders proved misplaced as the home side surged further ahead with Dzvukamanja netting his ninth of the campaign just after the hour-mark.
The talented midfielder then put Mabvura through for Ngezi's third to twist the knife on Highlanders coach Erol Akbay, who had fended off calls for his exit from disgruntled fans during the 1-0 loss to Tsholotsho in midweek.
Chicken Inn ensured themselves at least another week atop the log standings following a battling 1-0 win over Hwange at Luveve.
Outstanding central defender Moses Jackson headed home an Obadiah Tarumbwa corner-kick in the 36th minute before resuming his defensive duties to thwart the Hwange forwards.
Jackson, the cornerstone of a defence that has so far been the best in the league with just nine goals conceded, now also stands as his team's second-highest scorer with four goals.
Elsewhere, midfielder Rodwell Chinyengetere netted his fifth of the campaign five minutes into the second half as FC Platinum edged Black Rhinos 1-0 to climb into third place and keep pace with their title rivals.
While Platinum remain three points behind Chicken Inn, former log leaders Rhinos plunged deeper into oblivion, with Saturday's result representing a seventh consecutive defeat.
The revival remains on schedule meanwhile for Sunday Chidzambwa's ZPC Kariba, who beat visiting Harare City 2-1 for a third consecutive win.
Former Warriors coach Chidzambwa was close to throwing in the towel not so long ago as his side struggled to shake off a poor run which saw them register a mere two wins in 12 matches.
Gangling attacker Francesco Zekumbawire struck on the hour-mark to add to a Godkows Mangani first-half penalty conversion as Kariba went two up. Martin Vengesai then pulled one back deep into injury time for the visitors' consolation.
Full Results
Ngezi Platinum 3 Highlanders 0
FC Platinum 1 Black Rhinos 0
ZPC Kariba 2 Harare City 1
Chapungu 0 CAPS United 0