Dying Shabanie aim last kick at Bosso

Ricky Zililo, Sports Reporter
RELEGATION-haunted Shabanie Mine Football Club will be fighting for their Premiership life when they engage title-chasing Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday, their coach, Luke Masomere, said yesterday.
Masomere’s team are part of six clubs that are fighting relegation and the veteran gaffer is aware of what is at stake when they face the Bulawayo giants who are third on the log tied on 51 points with Dynamos.

Triangle, Hwange, Black Mambas, Buffaloes and Black Rhinos are the other teams that are fighting for survival.
Army side Black Rhinos are sitting on a knife-edge, fourth from the bottom with 37 points, but if they beat relegated Monomotapa they will take their points tally to 40.

Shabanie Mine, who are the reigning BancABC Sup8r Cup champions, are on position eight with 40 points and need a point to cement their Premiership position for next season.

Masomere had before last week’s midweek matches warned title chasing Dynamos and Highlanders to be wary of his club ahead of their meetings.

Shabanie Mine went on to hold Dynamos to a 1-1 draw before sending Triangle packing at Maglas Stadium at the weekend with a 2-0 victory.

Masomere, a former championship winning coach with AmaZulu, promised to give Highlanders a good run for their money.
He said his intention was to lead Shabanie Mine to a top eight finish so that they can defend their BancABC Sup8r Cup next season.
“Like I said last week that Dynamos and Highlanders should be terrified of Shabanie Mine, that position has not changed at all. I am not here to promote anyone’s profile; I am here to make sure that the spirit of fair play prevails. I am a professional and I want to lead my team to positive results all the time.

“On Sunday, there won’t be any favours for Highlanders. If they are to win they will win because they would have outclassed us not that we would have given them the victory on a silver platter. They have been winning along the way, they lost last weekend and that is football. I know the danger that they pose and I am planning accordingly to make sure that Shabanie Mine does not travel for nothing to Bulawayo,” said Masomere.

“VaHombe”, as he is affectionately known, is fretting over injuries of his key players who missed Tuesday’s training and only had light exercise yesterday.

Striker Tarisai Rukanda, dribbling wizard Valentine Ndaba, Pervington Zimunya, Caleb Masocha and Eria Phiri are the players nursing injuries.

So interesting is the survival battle that Buffaloes, Hwange and Black Mambas, who are tied on 38 points and Triangle (39) need nothing short of maximum points to make sure that Black Rhinos are relegated.

Hwange are almost guaranteed of another Premiership dance as they are tipped to collect maximum points at home to stubborn Motor Action at the Colliery Stadium. Motor Action have already been relegated and since the start of the second half of the season, the coalminers have only lost once to FC Platinum (0-1) on 4 September.

They have won four times at the Colliery Stadium including their famous 4-2 victory over defending champions Dynamos.
So, the odds favour Hwange.

Buffaloes have a tricky encounter against FC platinum who are aiming for a top four finish.
In the first leg played in Mutare, FC Platinum beat the army-powered club 2-1 and considering the ambitious Zvishavane platinum miners’ impressive home record, Buffaloes must brace for a tough outing.

Buffaloes’ last away win was in Week 21 when they beat Black Mambas 1-0. Along the way, they also lost to Hwange and championship favourites Harare City on the road.

The Mutare club is hard-pressed for a victory because anything short of it will condemn them to the Zifa Eastern Region Division One Soccer League.

This is provided that Black Rhinos beat Monomotapa who are already hard done by the fact that two of their key players Morgen Mungombe and Hillary Mugoniwa will miss the game because of suspensions.

The other club faced with a mammoth task is Black Mambas who have a date with defending champions Dynamos at Rufaro Stadium.
In their first meeting, the two played to 1-1 draw and now they square off at a time when the stakes are high with Dynamos wanting nothing short of victory to keep their championship ambitions very much alive while the police club is aware that once they lose and some of relegation clubs register wins they will be axed.

Gishon Ntini’s Triangle with 39 points will be home to Joey Antipas’ Chicken Inn. The Gamecocks have made known their intentions of finishing the season strongly and their chief striker Tendai Ndoro, who has 18 goals to his name, is vying for a brace to reach the 20 goal mark.

“My wish is to end the season with 20 goals and that can happen if I score a brace at Triangle but above all we are thinking of ending our season strongly. Even if I fail to get the two goals, my wish is to see us getting a positive result,” said Ndoro.

Fixtures
Sunday: Dynamos v Black Mambas (Rufaro), Tripple B v How Mine (Dulibadzimu), FC Platinum v Buffaloes (Mandava), Hwange v Motor Action (Colliery), Caps United v Harare City (National Sports Stadium), Monomotapa v Black Rhinos (Gwanzura), Highlanders v Shabanie Mine (Barbourfields), Triangle United v Chicken Inn