adminCaroline Magenga Sports Reporter
CHAPUNGU coach John Nyikadzino says he is confident his team will emerge victorious when they clash with bitter rivals Black Rhinos tomorrow in a make-or-break Castle Lager Premiership fixture at Ascot.
Both teams are sitting on the sword on 34 points alongside Triangle, Harare City and Shabanie Mine, who are also in the relegation zone.
Chapungu beat the army outfit in their first encounter, courtesy of a goal from Brighton Mugoni.
This weekend they be having home advantage, while Black Rhinos will be hoping to maintain the momentum from their recent win over Shabanie Mine.
“Our preparations are going on well and I am confident that victory will be ours at any cost, the players know what’s at stake and they will deliver,” said Nyikadzino.
“I don’t know why everyone is making a fuss about the issue of relegation; to the best of my knowledge that can only be determined after our last game.
“Things in the league and soccer matches generally are unpredictable; anything can happen. Any team can be crowned champions, promoted or relegated, but as far as Chapungu are concerned, the word relegation does not exist in our vocabulary.
“We are not putting ourselves under pressure, but are approaching this game like any other league game. Every game for us is a must-win and we fight to collect maximum points.”
The coach also attributed his team’s poor performance in their last matches to complacency on the part of the players.
They lost their home tie to relegated Bantu-Rovers and were also held to a goalless draw by How Mine at Mandava in their last two matches.
“The players tend to relax at times, but the price we pay at the end is heavy.
“We dropped crucial points owing to the game we lost to Bantu Rovers, but we have been working on that issue and if you watched the match we played against How Mine, although it ended in a draw, there was a marked improvement in how we played.
“At present we are still continuing with preparations, but psychologically I think we are there. The players are hungry for a win and come this weekend, their objective will be to collect all the three points,” said Nyikadzino.
Rhinos manager Wellington Mabiginye admitted that they were up for a tricky fixture as Chapungu will be at home where they have lost only once.
“They (Chapungu) will be no walk-over. They recorded a loss and then in their last game a draw and it shows they are recovering.
“In addition to that, they are on home ground and have a mental upper hand as they, at one point, beat us. While we have the same points, they are edging us by a goal so it will be a very tricky fixture.
“Despite the odds weighing against us, we have faith that our players will manage to get a positive result and keep us in the Premiership.
“Our focus is to keep the players psychologically ready for the encounter because there is a lot of pressure going into this game.
“So far, we are happy with the preparations. The players’ morale is high and we just want them to go out there, enjoy the game, do their best and the better team on the day will win,” said Mabiginye.
Fixtures:
Today: ZPC Kariba v Dynamos (National Sports Stadium), Chicken Inn v Buffaloes (Hartsfield)
Tomorrow: CAPS United v Harare City (National Sports Stadium), Shabanie v Highlanders (Maglas), Bantu Rovers v How Mine (Hartsfield), : Hwange v FC Platinum (Colliery), Chiredzi v Triangle (Chishamiso), Chapungu v Black Rhinos (Ascot).
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