Diamonds on SuperSport

across large parts of Africa – when they clash in the inaugural Mbada Diamonds Cup final at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The Glamour Boys beat the Mighty Bulls 2-0 in an historic league match at Rufaro, the first local Premiership tie to be broadcast live on SuperSport, and the two teams will meet again in a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.
Both teams received widespread credit, for the way they responded to the occasion where their performance was being followed by fans in foreign lands, and DeMbare grabbed the initiative to win 2-0.

Midfielder Denver Mukamba struck a beauty, to open the scoring for the Glamour Boys, who then went on to beat FC Platinum, in their backyard, and Kiglon to be crowned league champions.
Now the SuperSport cameras are coming back for the Mbada Diamonds Cup grande finale and foreign referees have also been hired for the occasion.
Dynamos are looking at completing a League and Cup Double but they know that they have a tough task against a Motor Action side still rocking from their failed mission to defend their league championship.

The Mighty Bulls finished third.
The Glamour Boys are still in celebratory mood after bagging a record 18th domestic league crown at the weekend.
With hopes of achieving the double now brighter, after clearing one big hurdle, assistant coach Tonderai Ndiraya yesterday said they were ready for the showdown against the Mighty Bulls in a tournament where winners are guaranteed a cool US$75 000 cheque.

They will also get an extra US$150 000, should they decide to play in the Confederation Cup next year, which will be used for their commitments in Africa’s second-tier inter-club tourney.
Motor Action won the BancABC Sup8r Cup are also looking to dominate the knockout tournaments this season to make up for the league title they virtually surrendered to their rivals when they lost 0-2 at Rufaro that Wednesday.

The match, which will bring down the curtain on an eventful season, will be shown live on SuperSport 9.
“It’s going to be a huge occasion for us if we win the Mbada Cup,” said Ndiraya.
“It’s true that the league title is the most prized scoop in football circles anywhere in the world but that doesn’t make the other cup competitions less important.

“It’s fine we are still rejoicing but we are not sitting back. There is no reason why we should lose focus at this stage. We have said it before and we are still aiming for that league and cup double.”
Ndiraya, who has formed quite a good technical team with Callisto Pasuwa, said they were wary of a Mighty Bulls’ backlash.
“We are quite aware that Motor Action also want the Mbada Diamonds Cup,” said Ndiraya.

“They have lost their league crown and they have shown that they are still hungry for success this year by winning the BancABC Sup8r Cup. So we have to be at our best.
“Everyone is looking forward to it and the players are in high spirits following our recent league championship victory.
“We have achieved what we wanted and now we want to cap the season by winning the Mbada Diamonds Cup.”

Dynamos’ preparations got off to a scary start with their top goal scorer, and 2011 Castle Lager Premiership Golden Boot winner Roderick Mutuma, sat out of yesterday’s training session due to an ankle injury.

Mutuma was joined on the sidelines by veteran Murape Murape and David Kutyauripo, who are also nursing injuries from the last league match against Kiglon.
“It’s unfortunate they had to miss training because they have slight knocks and we are hoping that they will recover before the end of the week,” said Ndiraya.
“Besides, everyone is in high spirits and, by the way we have started our business this week, I think we can do it. We just need to believe in ourselves.”

Dynamos have had a tricky mountain to climb to get to the final.
They beat old rivals CAPS United in the first round courtesy of a 1-0 win at the National Sports Stadium.

They then brushed aside Shooting Stars in the last eight, following a 3-0 thrashing of the Wild Boys at Maglas, to book a semi-final date against bitter rivals FC Platinum.
Stand-in captain Cuthbert Malajila’s goal decided the tense semi-final tie at Barbourfields against the ambitious platinum miners.
Motor Action beat Zimbabwe Saints 2-0 at Sakubva, in a rain-swept game, to proceed to the final.

The Mighty Bulls can earn the rights to brag as Cup Kings, at least for this season, should they add the Mbada Diamonds Cup to the BancABC Sup8r Cup they captured earlier this year.
While Dynamos can rightly claim to be the best team in the country today, following their success story in the league, Motor Action have turned into their toughest opponents in the capital.

Although the Glamour Boys beat CAPS United four times this season, their head-to-head record against the Mighty Bulls is very close.
Motor Action beat Dynamos 2-0 in their first league encounter at Rufaro before the Glamour Boys turned it around with a 2-0 win two weeks ago.

If the Mighty Bulls win on Sunday, they will hold a 2-1 record, in head-to-head clashes against Dynamos, in all competitions this season.