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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
CHAMPIONS Chicken Inn troop into the Rufaro Stadium turf this afternoon for a date with Harare City without three key players, injured Divine Lunga and Tafadzwa Kutinyu and their talisman Obadiah Tarumbwa who is suspended. Tarumbwa is one of six Premier Soccer League players who will miss this week’s action due to suspensions, among them Highlanders skipper Felix Chindungwe.
“Please note that the player(s) listed hereunder have each accumulated three (3) yellow cards and will be suspended for one match respectively. The said player(s) shall not participate in their club’s matchday fourteen of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches scheduled for the 16th to 17th July 2016,” read a statement from the league’s communications department.
The other players set to miss it out include the ZPC Kariba duo of Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe and Tawanda Nyamandwe, Hwange’s Phakamani Dube and Arnold Nyakabawo of Mutare City Rovers.
Coming against the backdrop of a 1-2 loss to Chapungu and 0-0 draw with a resurgent Ngezi Platinum, the GameCocks will be hard-pressed to post a good result and keep their title defence charge alive.
Their more experienced players like Clemence Matawu, Ben Nyaunzvi, Moses Jackson, Daryln Nyandoro, Chris Samakweri and midfield enforcer Thabani Goredema need to come to the party and lift youngsters.
Coach Rahman Gumbo, who watched in disbelief as his players took turns to miss the target against Ngezi Platinum said they were looking forward to the match. They face a Harare City side that is high in confidence after an away 1-0 win over ZPC Kariba at Nyamhunga Stadium.
“We’re looking forward to the game,” said Gumbo. The revered multi-championship winning coach might unleash Guide Goddard who was deregistered by Joe Antipas at the beginning of the season but remained training with the team.
While Antipas used him as a central defender, Gumbo believes Goddard is an excellent midfielder. Sitting on position nine with 18 points Chicken Inn might storm into the top eight with a win this afternoon against a side they are meeting for the ninth time since 2012.
In the eight games they have played, the two sides have recorded three wins each and two draws. Interestingly their first clashes were back to back in 2012 that saw the first encounter ending 1-1 in Harare before the GameCocks posted a slender 1-0 in the reverse fixture.
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