Online Reporter
Fungai Muderere, Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHICKEN Inn will tomorrow make the long journey to Kariba for a rescheduled Chibuku Super Cup first round clash against ZPC Kariba at Nyamhunga Stadium.
The tie, which had been postponed in August when the stadium hosted Heroes Day commemorations, will be the curtain raiser to another rearranged first round fixture between Herentals and Highlanders, scheduled for Sunday at the same venue.
For the Gamecocks, it is a chance to bounce back after last weekend’s 2-1 league defeat to MWOS. Coach Joey Antipas admitted his men must dig deep in Kariba.
“It’s another tricky fixture for us. We will be playing away from home and we have been working hard at training with hope of getting it right at Nyamhunga. Everyone has been giving their all at training and come Saturday, we are going for a fight,” said Antipas.
Their opponents, ZPC Kariba, will be buoyed by a 3-1 win over CAPS United in Harare last Sunday. Moses Demera struck twice inside five minutes before Charles Munyanyi added a stoppage time goal to seal the upset.
Coach Newton Chitewe said they are not reading too much into Chicken Inn’s recent struggles.
“Cup games are always difficult and unpredictable. We are looking forward to this one, and we are hopeful that all the players will rise to the occasion. We cannot afford to underestimate Chicken Inn,” Chitewe said.
So far, six clubs have booked places in the quarter-finals:
Bikita Minerals, Dynamos, Manica Diamonds, MWOS, Scottland and Triangle.
In the preliminary round, Dynamos needed penalties to edge Yadah Stars after a goalless draw, while Triangle advanced thanks to an Ali Sadiki strike against Kwekwe United.
Results so far
Dynamos 0-0 Yadah (Dynamos won 4-3 on penalties) Triangle 1-0 Kwekwe United (Ali Sadiki) Simba Bhora 1-1 Dynamos (Boid Mutukure; Hammond Felix 81’) (Dynamos won 4-3 on penalties) MWOS 2-0 CAPS United (Nigel Matinha, Arthur Banda) FC Platinum 0-0 Manica Diamonds (Manica won 5-3 on penalties) TelOne 1-1 Bikita Minerals (Frank Makarati; Tineyi Tsimba) (Bikita won 5-4 on penalties) Scottland 1-0 GreenFuel (Moses Shidolo) Ngezi Platinum 0-0 Triangle (Triangle won 6-5 on penalties)
This weekend
Saturday: ZPC Kariba vs Chicken Inn (Nyamhunga)
Sunday: Herentals vs Highlanders (Nyamhunga)
Bongani Ndlovu