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Paul Mundandi in Zvishavane
HARARE City Coach Bigboy Mawiwi has stoked flames ahead of their Mbada Diamonds Cup semi-final clash against Highlanders at Mandava on Saturday. The Sunshine City Boys, who are only playing in their second year in the Premiership, find themselves in with a chance to win both the League title and the Mbada Diamonds Cup following a remarkable season of consistency.
Mawiwi yesterday said his team, who beat Monomotapa and Hwange to reach the last four, will give everything to make sure they realise their dream. City are also second in the Premiership race, level on points with log leaders Dynamos, and could win their maiden league title if they win all their remaining three matches and the Glamour boys drop points along the way. But Mawiwi and his men first have to deal with Bosso, in the Mbada Diamonds Cup semi-finals, the first of two big matches between the two sides who are also set to meet in Week 29 of the league programme at Rufaro.
Yesterday, the Harare City coach said his men were ready to face any team, Bosso included, and all they needed to post a good result was to concentrate the entire match.
“I do not fear Highlanders at all and we are approaching our match very positively,” said Mawiwi who, even if he loses in both the Mbada Diamonds Cup and the championship race, appears to have done enough to be rewarded with the 2013 Coach of the Year award.
“I know they are also confident that they are going to win the match but what we are saying is that we need to finish the season on a good note and we have to fight to be in the final.
“We respect them, yes, and I know they beat us 2-0 in our second match of the season at Barbourfields but Saturday’s game is a different ball game.
“As Harare City we are gunning for a double this season.”
The soft-spoken coach has been a huge success at Harare City and for them to be level on points with the champions, at the top of the table, with only three matches left in the season, has been a huge achievement.
Mawiwi is a former Dynamos assistant coach and is one of the FOUR coaches, with DeMbare ties, who find themselves occupying the Top Five positions in the championship race with Callisto Pasuwa leading the marathon and Taurai Mangwiro (CAPS United) and Lloyd Mutasa(FC Platinum) also there in the mix.
There is a big DeMbare support base in this town and Mawiwi believes they will back his team in their showdown against Bosso.
“We are working very hard to be the better side on Saturday. I love people in Zvishavane because they are level headed and I am also pretty sure that Dynamos fans are going to rally behind us,” said Mawiwi.
Mawiwi guided Lengthens to the final of the BancABC Sup8r Cup in 2008, which he eventually lost to Caps United, and has also been in charge of Gunners, Circle United and Eagles.
He will, however, miss defender Witness Nyamutsaka who was stretchered off the field last Saturday when they clashed against Black Rhinos at Rimuka and escaped with a point after the home side missed a penalty.
“We play as a team at Harare City,” he said, as if to emphasise that this wasn’t about individuals but about a group of individuals who have bonded and found a way to even play for each other, even when key players are not available. Veteran forward Nathan Ziwini appears to have been reborn, and completely different from the player who struggled to carry the weight of wearing a Dynamos jersey where he was very ordinary.
Silas Songani has also been one of their key players and, when the two are on song, Harare City are a difficult team to stop.
The Sunshine City Boys will be the home team on Saturday.
Bosso have generally done well in Zvishavane and should start as favourites in a tie that is too close for anyone to make a call. Highlanders beat Shabanie at Maglas in a league match earlier this year in Zvishavane and held FC Platinum to a goalless draw in a league match at Mandava having thrashed the same team 3-0 in another league match at the same stadium last year.
This year, Bosso knocked FC Platinum from the Mbada Diamonds Cup in the first round before an impressive showing, in the quarter-finals, saw them destroy Buffaloes 3-1 at Mucheke.
Highlanders coach, Kevin Kaindu, is expected to be on the bench on Saturday after missing his team’s 1-1 draw against Motor Action at Rufaro while attending a coaching course in England. With the two teams meeting in a big league match, in the next two weeks, analysts believe that whoever wins their showdown in the Mbada Diamonds Cup on Saturday will enjoy a psychological boost.
Bosso badly need a good reason, to put their campaign back on track, after a morale-shattering home loss to Dynamos and the two points dropped against the Mighty Bulls. The Bulawayo giants will again miss suspended key forward Njabulo Ncube, who is serving the last match of the red card he received in the Battle of Zimbabwe, while Gabriel Nyoni did not travel for the tie against the Mighty Bulls because of injury.
Online Reporter