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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
CHICKEN Inn coach Joey Antipas said his focus is firmly placed on winning the Castle Lager Premiership soccer title and that is why he gave his regular players a rest in the Easycall Cup quarter-final match at the weekend ahead of tomorrow’s crucial league match against Tsholotsho at White City. But his second string team still went on to advance to the semi-finals of the Easycall Cup at the expense of ZPC Kariba, showing depth in the team, at the weekend.
Antipas said it is not going to be an easy game for them in the local derby with Tsholotsho as the full dish of the Premiership is being served on the single day with all the action lined up tomorrow. “It is good to be in the last four and I give credit to the boys. They fought hard despite very hot weather conditions that were in Kariba.
“I gave the players rest because we would have a long trip to Bulawayo from Kariba and two upcoming fixtures on Wednesday and at the weekend which are important and any other team in our position would have put such emphasis on these matches,” he said. The former Motor Action coach said they are wary of the Lizwe Sweswe-coached team.
“It is a local derby. They are fighting relegation so they are tricky customers. They are in a good space right now as they have been winning matches and it would be a difficult game for us,” he said. Chicken Inn would be without their goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze who is suspended after accumulating three yellow cards while Tsholotsho will be without midfielder Nixon Gama who is also suspended.
With the pacesetters Chicken Inn shifting their focus to the league, champions Dynamos also say they are preparing for the match against already relegated Dongo Sawmill. The Rusape side was officially relegated in their last league match against Triangle. But the Glamour Boys coach Tonderayi Ndiraya said the match will not be an easy one for them.
“I have said we want to win each and every match we play. We want to keep pushing in the league and see what happens. We want to continue working hard and Wednesday’s game is no exception, we are not taking Dongo Sawmill for granted. We know what they can do, they came here and gave us a good run for our money.
“We have to take them seriously and they are also quite difficult to beat at their home ground so we have to go there with a plan although the time is limited we will see how it goes,” said Ndiraya. The former Dynamos midfielder is still hopeful that anything can happen in the championship race and said it is important that they continue to win their remaining league matches.
Going into this match, the Harare giants would be extra motivated after they bounced back to winning ways after a four-match dry spell when they beat How Mine in the Easycall Cup quarter-finals at Rufaro on Sunday. However, DeMbare, who are still struggling with scoring, would be hoping that striker Roderick Mutuma would have recovered fully from an injury after they gave him a rest over the weekend.
The team is not scoring goals and in the Easycall Cup tie against How Mine, their only goal came from a penalty. FC Platinum, who were booted out of the Easycall Cup when they were edged 0-1 by Highlanders at Mandava on Sunday, would also be seeking to shift focus and find solace in winning their match against Flame Lily at Lafarge so as to keep pressure on log leaders Chicken Inn.
It is not an easy game for the Zvishavane-based side as the prison warders are fighting relegation. Should Takesure Chiragwi’s Flame Lily fail to collect maximum points tomorrow against the Pure Platinum Boys and rivals Buffaloes and Tsholotsho collect some points, they would be officially relegated. Also facing the chop tomorrow are Whawha if they lose to Harare City at Rufaro. Their fate would be sealed.
Meanwhile, Premier Soccer League chief executive Kenny Ndebele said they will announce the dates of the Easycall Cup semi-final draw after they meet with the sponsor. Ndebele said they were impressed with the staging of the quarter-finals over the weekend. The semi-finals would be played on the weekend of December 5-6 with the final slated for the weekend of December 12 -13.
Castle Lager Premiership mid-week Fixtures
Tomorrow: Tsholotsho v Chicken Inn ( White City), Flame Lily v FC Platinum ( Lafarge), CAPS United v How Mine (National Sports Stadium), Dongo Sawmill v Dynamos (Vengere), Chapungu v Triangle (Ascot), Buffaloes v ZPC Kariba (Sakubva), Hwange v Highlanders (Colliery), Harare City v Whawha (Rufaro).
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