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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
CHAMPIONS FC Platinum are set to be handed their Castle Lager Premiership football title at home next week but the fight is still far from over at the other end of the table where the desperate fight for survival is set to dominate the last two rounds of the campaign. The platinum miners, who travel to Gibbo tomorrow to face Triangle, sealed the championship race with three games remaining two weeks ago, leaving giants Dynamos and 2015 champions Chicken Inn battling for second place.
But the real battles are at the bottom end of the table where two more teams are set to be relegated after basement sides Whawha and Tenax had accepted their fate.
Harare City and Bulawayo City who complete the bottom four have an interesting date at Barbourfields this afternoon. Harare City, who sit third from the bottom, need an outright win to hang on, at least until the final day of the marathon, depending on how results go elsewhere.
Taurayi Mangwiro’s men have 29 points in the bag, five from the last position of safety and their fate is no longer in their hands. They could just become the third team to be officially demoted if they fail to collect maximum points in Bulawayo today.
Bulawayo City, on the other hand, are still fancying their chances after a run of three wins in succession brought them to 33 points, two points behind ZPC Kariba, who occupy the last position of safety.
Cranborne Bullets, who host Tenax at Vengere today, are also still in the mix. With Bulawayo City still able to reach maximum 39 points, giants CAPS United may still need maximum points against Bulawayo Chiefs at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon to steer completely clear of the murky waters.
CAPS United have 38 points from 32 games.
ZPC Kariba, who sit just above the relegation cut off point with 35 points, have a difficult away assignment at Barbourfields against giants Highlanders tomorrow.
Bosso are aiming for a strong finish, and possibly finish in the top four placing, following a mid-season recovery under Portuguese coach Baltemar Brito.
Highlanders have dedicated this last home game against ZPC Kariba to their late development player Caesar “Mafigo” Dube, who died from injuries he sustained in a freak road accident earlier this week. “As the Highlanders family we are sad because we knew the boy. It was sad news to us.
“We want to send a word of condolence to the family and the people close to him because he was a good player who came to training everyday smiling and giving the best he can at training. What we want now is to dedicate the win to him,” said Brito.
Bosso are also aiming to sign off in style in front of their passionate supporters, who have remained loyal to their club at a time local football fans have been shunning the domestic league games.
“We have a big responsibility on Sunday because it is our last game at home. So we want to thank the fans with a good performance,” Brito said.
Fellow giants Dynamos are still hoping for a top two finish despite dropping into third place last week following the goalless draw between the country’s biggest clubs.
DeMbare are competing for silver with 2015 champions Chicken Inn, who played Yadah yesterday.
“The top two is still within our reach,” said Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya ahead of their match against Herentals set for the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.
DeMbare have collected only one point from their last two games and were roundly criticised for turning up flat in the goalless Battle of Zimbabwe against Highlanders last weekend.
“We are not playing easy teams either; it’s how we are going to move on from this. We are playing another difficult team again against Herentals and we have to try and push in the best way that we can to get maximum points.
“It’s these games that give us an indication of how strong the team is mentally especially when they play good teams. So we want to try and get some wins from the last two games and that would give us an indication of how strong we are as a team,” said Ndiraya.
Their opponents Herentals are aiming to finish the campaign in the top eight. The Students have punched above their weight in three seasons of Premiership football and are keen to improve on the 11th place they attained in the last campaign in 2019.
“One important thing is that we are facing one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Zimbabwe,” said Herentals coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva.
“This on its own gives our team enough motivation. Players are very easy to motivate when we play a team like Dynamos. They (the players) would want to prove themselves and their abilities since Dynamos is a big club.
“So, it’s a positive for us. We hope the players will bring their best to the table. We have also enjoyed our history against Dynamos. Our games have been exciting.
“We need to keep performing well regardless of the game now being almost a dead rubber. We have survived relegation and they have lost the championship but I am sure the game is going to be entertaining, particularly to the spectators.
“So I urge fans to come and support us and watch the talent that we have and also try to improve the game. I look forward to an exciting game, with no pressure but just entertainment for the fans.”
Fixtures
Today: CAPS Utd v Bulawayo Chiefs (NSS), Cranborne Bullets v Tenax (Vengere), Bulawayo City v Harare City (Barbourfields), Whawha v Black Rhinos (Ascot)
Tomorrow: Manica Diamonds v Ngezi Platinum (Sakubva), Triangle v FC Platinum (Gibbo), Highlanders v ZPC Kariba (Barbourfields), Herentals v Dynamos (NSS)
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