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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
AFTER going 15 games unbeaten in all competitions, champions FC Platinum have expressed desire to maintain their spell on Zimbabwean football when they clash with giants Dynamos in the quarter-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.
The Zvishavane miners, who have won almost all the major football titles in the last few years, are gunning for the defence of the cup on the back of another dominant season.
But they are not likely to get it easy against the success-starved Harare giants. The platinum miners’ coach Norman Mapeza yesterday stressed the importance of the fixture and the need to maintain focus.
By any stretch of imagination, this is the biggest game of the tournament this year, pitting the league’s current top two teams that have both gone on impressive unbeaten runs.
While the platinum miners are unbeaten in almost five months, their opponents Dynamos have also not tasted defeat in their last eight competitive matches. But tomorrow, one side will have to bite the dust. FC Platinum coach Mapeza yesterday told journalists that his two-time Chibuku Super Cup champions are not leaving anything to chance.
“The guys have been pushing and I think everybody in this institution knows the importance of our game against Dynamos on Sunday.
“It’s a massive opportunity for us to be involved in this tournament once again. What is important for us as a club is to go out there with the same mentality,” said Mapeza.
“Of course, cup games are a little bit different from league games but I think if we can carry on with the same mentality, same desire and attitude we have been putting in week in and week out I think we can get something out of the game.”
FC Platinum and Dynamos are no strangers in this competition. In fact, they are meeting for the third time since the tournament began in 2014.
The first time was in 2015 when Dynamos won 7-6 on penalties in a closely-contested quarter-final. The platinum miners got their revenge last year when they held on to a 1-0 semi-final victory, courtesy of Innocent Mucheneka’s extra-time strike at the National Sports Stadium.
Mucheneka, however, will not play a part this time as he is yet to recover from an injury he suffered a month back.
“Innocent and Nigel Makumbe started training this week but I don’t think they will be ready for the game,” said Mapeza.
“They still need about two to three weeks of preparation and then we may start talking about them getting involved. Save for these two, the rest of the guys are okay.”
Dynamos are almost injury-free with fringe defender Munyaradzai Mawadza the only casualty. The stakes are even higher for Tonderai Ndiraya’s men, who have not laid their hands on the elusive Chibuku Super Cup title in seven attempts.
Dynamos and FC Platinum have met twice this year with both encounters producing goalless draws. Ndiraya, who lifted the cup with Ngezi Platinum Stars in 2016, told journalists he was anticipating something different tomorrow.
“I always say every game is a new game and the way you approach cup games is quite different from how you approach league games. So we know how to approach these matches. Of course, I have won the cup before and I am hoping to use the experience to do well,” he said.
“Games of this magnitude don’t normally produce so many goals. But we don’t train for that; we train to score as many goals as we can. But if you look at the statistics, I think we are the two best teams in the league in terms of defending and conceding less.
“But we would love to have so many goals so that fans will enjoy more. Hopefully, we can be that team which can score many goals. So it’s going to be a very tight game and one which is really going to have a lot of tension because of what is at stake.
“A place in the semi-finals is so special to the two teams. Of course, we haven’t thrown in the towel yet in the league race. So we are all looking for a double and that brings so much excitement to the whole atmosphere,” said Ndiraya.
The DeMbare gaffer appealed to the Glamour Boys supporters to spur his team on to victory. “I can’t really say it’s an advantage (playing at home) because we were in the same situation last year and we lost in the semi-finals. It’s normally difficult especially when big teams meet but, of course, we are banking on home support.
“We are familiar with the environment at the National Sports Stadium and hopefully we can take advantage of that. We hope that we can have as many fans as we can to push the boys to get to the next round of the competition,” said Ndiraya.
Chibuku Super Cup Quarter-final Fixtures
Today: Herentals v Manica Diamonds (NSS)
Tomorrow: Dynamos v FC Platinum (NSS), Bulawayo Chiefs v Highlanders (Barbourfields), Black Rhinos v Chicken Inn (Vengere)
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