The ManicaPost
ESTEEMED followers of the game of football, thank you for finding time for interaction.As the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League inches closer to the finishing end, the already intriguing campaign meanders to another interesting weekend with eye-watering fixtures.
| It has got exciting not only at the top end of the table, but at the bottom as well; with clubs at the apex and the foot with everything to play and fight for. |
With the top three sides – who are all championship-chasing – being delicately separated by a single point between them, this weekend’s round of matches can easily set pulses racing.
Battle of Harare
Unpredictable Harare City host table toppers CAPS United in a cross-town contest that will pit the Sunshine Boys coach, Moses “Bambo” Chung against his former paymasters at the Green Machine.
Harare City will seek a positive reaction to bounce back after FC Platinum served some cold revenge in style in the Chibuku Super Cup and dumped Chunga’s charges out of the knockout competition after participating in the last two finals since the cup was re-launched two seasons ago.
Harare City have also turned into something of party spoilers after they nudged FC Platinum off the rails in the title race with a 2-1 victory and will be out to improve on their current position on the log standings (seventh) and add to the points tally in their quest to finish higher under Bambo.
Moses Chunga
CAPS United, on the other hand, would want to keep their title chase on track and ensure that destiny remains firmly in their own hands and finish the job at hand.
Their remarkable draw against arch rivals Dynamos two weeks ago, which effectively protected their lead at the top, will give them extra impetus to fight on.
Bulawayo Derby
Highlanders and Tsholotsho lock horns in another city rivalry that could go either way.
Derbies, by their very nature, are never easy games and another ingredient to this fascinating tie – which will definitely add an intriguing subplot to game – is that both teams are chasing something at the opposite ends of the table.
Bosso are eyeing the league gold, while the Zhwane Boys are battling for survival.
Each side will, therefore, be playing for an outright win to blow wind into their respective sails.
Their lives now depend on what remains of this season, especially so this particular fixture.
Highlanders edged their opponents 2-1 in the first leg, with Tsholotsho feeling hard done by the referee’s decision to rule their effort out for offside as they also cried foul in the buildup to Bosso’s winner.
Midlands Mania
Though not as popular as the other derbies from the bigger cities Harare and Bulawayo, this provincial bout is as tricky as they come. Ascot is never an easy venue to go to and the two big guns that have been there this season – Dynamos and Highlanders – sweated over their slender hard-earned victories and FC Platinum have to be at their best on their visit to Chapungu. Waru Waru, at the time they were still to play the title-contesting trio of MaKepeKepe, Bosso and Pure Platinum Play, declared that they will not be in benevolent mood to donate points and, true to their word, had made life difficult for Highlanders before succumbing 0-1 right at the death of the game.
Against that background, and with the Green Machine still to roll into Gweru, Norman Mapeza and his Platinum boys have to be wary of a potential banana-skin in this Midlands duel.
Also, gaffer John Nyikadzino and his airmen will be out to exert a measure of revenge on Mapeza for the 1-0 defeat they suffered at Mandava in the reverse fixture.
An underwhelming season
The Dynamos-Mutare City Rovers clash will feature two sides that have been disappointing over the course of this season. By their lofty standards, DeMbare have had an underwhelming campaign, while Gusha have struggled to get the monkey off the back in their maiden Premiership voyage.
Lloyd Mutasa and his stuttering Glamour Boys will be out to salvage something out of faltering season as will Taku Shariwa and his Gusha charges seek to steal a march to safety.
At Sakubva in the first leg, Rovers narrowly lost 1-2 in a game whose significance was that it was the first after the then under-fire and restive Dynamos Portuguese expatriate coach Jorge Paulo Silva had received a four-match ultimatum from the DeMbare executive.
Already, we have been witnesses to what legendary ex-Manchester United tactician Sir Alex Ferguson dubbed the “squeaky-bum time” and a thrilling run could be in the offing again this weekend.
It’s Game On, Play On!
Feedback:
God bless Mr Chiyangwa; dai vasipo maWrriors hapana kwavaienda. – Munangatiri, Chiweshe.
For feedback, send your views, comments and contributions through WhatsApp or sms on 0733 576 259 or e-mail:[email protected]
