adminGrace Chingoma Sports Reporter
SHABANIE Mine coach Luke Masomere would be hoping that history will not repeat itself this Sunday at Barbourfields and get eliminated at the semi-final stage again when they host Dynamos in the BancABC Sup8r Cup. Chinda Boys doesn’t have fond memories of Barbourfields following their quarter-final exit in the tournament that was last staged in 2011.
They lost 1-0 to Highlanders to miss a place in the finals. Bosso went on to lose by the same margin to Motor Action in the final.
Shabanie meet another traditional giant and remain the underdogs in this cup. They will battle it out with the league and Mbada Diamonds Cup champions Dynamos.
But the Zvishavane side are not looking much into the curriculum vitae of their opponents. They are focusing on what they can offer on the day. Yesterday they played sister club Gaths Mine at Maglas in a friendly match. Masomere says even though the extended break might have some impact on the team’s performance, it should not count much.
“It is really a disappointment that when we start to play well we are affected. But it is not Shabanie alone but all the teams have not been active.
“We have been preparing well and we are ready for the game. We will do our best.
“When playing Dynamos we are obviously the underdogs. We are not going to say much before this game. But hope we will improve from the last time we played a BancABC match. It is going to be my second time in this Cup and last time we reached the semi-finals and lost to Highlanders at Barbourfields.
“This time we are playing the semis at Barbourfields again but both teams are on neutral venue. We hope we will progress to the final,” said Masomere.
Shabanie would be looking for some experience in matches of this magnitude from their newboys Norman Maroto and Simbarashe Gate.
The duo joined the club during the transfer window. The club also welcomed back Philemon Mudenha and Boniface Dzimanje who have been sidelined with injuries since the season began.
The gaffer says they will add depth and complement the old players.
While Sunday’s clash appears to be of a champion and an underdog it is not the same tale on Saturday when Monomotapa date FC Platinum at the same venue.
It looks like a more balanced affair but Monoz coach Biggie Zuze says their opponents have an upperhand as they are better resourced than them.
“It is going to be a tough game. It is a Cup game and one match away from the final. We have to reach the final.
“FC Platinum, you can see by their performance that they are a good side. They are financially stable and easily motivated. They have a good coach who knows how to psyche his players.
“But it is a 50-50 situation although they slightly have an edge over us in terms of resources and can get all the players they want. Our boys are also motivated and just want to reach the final. Last year (during the Mbada Diamonds Cup) stage fright affected us. But most of the players have been there. They now know how nice it is to play a Cup final and would want to play in another Cup final,” said Zuze.
The mentor also believes the break would be a blessing in disguise for them and will see them returning a rejuvenated lot.
“A break has advantages and disadvantages for a team. In terms of injuries you would be happy that there would be time for players to recover from injuries. And the disadvantage would be that you may fail to reproduce the form you had before. But in our situation, it afforded us a chance to work on some areas as well as our combinations.
“We added some young players and have had enough time to work with the rest of the team,” said Zuze.
Online Reporter