‘Bring on Chicken Inn!’

Senior Sports Reporter
“BRING on Chicken Inn!” These were the words of on fire Highlanders’ striker Knox Mutizwa, who scored his team’s second goal as Bosso edged Dynamos 2-1 in the semi-final of the Easycall Cup at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday. A jubilant Mutizwa, who won the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League’s Top Goal Scorer award after netting 14 times and was also voted the third best player in the land, said he has already set his sights on scoring against Chicken Inn in the final.

The Gamecocks were the first to book a place in the final after thrashing Caps United 3-0 in an ill-fated encounter on Saturday. Mutizwa said he wants to make up for missing Highlanders’ 2-3 defeat to Chicken Inn in a league encounter due to suspension. “I think by scoring and playing well, I’ve put myself under the spotlight and I’m happy that my goal helped the team reach the final.

“That was a classic goal which I scored; something that I’ve seen top strikers in the Uefa Champions League score,” said Mutizwa. “As players, we told ourselves we can’t lose to Dynamos at home and we really worked hard. Hearing fans singing and cheering felt fantastic. “Now the focus is on Chicken Inn. Tell them we’re coming for them and we’ll win the trophy,” he declared.

In the midst of his jubilation, Mutizwa, who arrived for the DeMbare clash on Saturday afternoon from a trial stint at South African Premiership side Bidvest Wits, said he is likely to fly back to Johannesburg this afternoon.

“I had a great week at Wits and if everything goes well, I’ll be going back to South Africa tomorrow. I’m waiting for my manager (Gibson Mahachi) to confirm the trip,” said Mutizwa. Mutizwa scored in the 32nd minute after beating his marker to come face-to-face with Dynamos goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva and converted with a cool chip to spark wild celebrations.

Obidiah Tarumbwa, scorer of Highlanders’ first goal was happy that they had reached the final. “It’s a great feeling beating Dynamos for the second time in a cup game this year. Remember we beat them in the final of the ZNA Charity Shield and now this victory.

“It really means a lot to the players, the club and supporters. “Hopefully we’ll win this cup and make it difficult for Dynamos to beat Bosso next season,” said Tarumbwa. Bosso’s interim technical director Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu said they had fulfilled the mandate set for them by the club’s executive.

“When we came in, we were told to get the club into the top eight and we finished the season on position six. “The management also told us that they’ll be happy if we take the club into the Easycall Cup final and we’ve fulfilled our mandate together with Amini Soma-Phiri and Melusi Sibanda,” said Zulu.

“I would also like to thank the supporters, who heeded our calls by standing by the team throughout the game. “Beating Dynamos is a sweet thing but this isn’t over. We want to give Highlanders a trophy and we’re bracing for a competitive game against Chicken Inn, who are the Premier Soccer League champions.”

Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya blamed his defence for giving away what he felt were soft goals. “I’m very disappointed because we didn’t have a good first half.

“We were sluggish and conceded silly goals after our defenders were caught napping. I think Highlanders wanted it more than us in the first half. In the second half, we tried our best but came short in the final third,” said Ndiraya.