Hwange eye Bob ‘88 success

final of the Bob ’88 Super Cup at Rufaro this Sunday.
Chilumba yesterday said it was his desire to win trophies with the club this year. Hwange have already proved themselves worthy contenders after knocking out defending champions Dynamos in the semi-finals last month with a 2-1 win.
But they face a daunting challenge in Rahman Gumbo’s high-flying FC Platinum who sealed their berth after eliminating Motor Action by the same scoreline.
Four teams featured in the tournament this year and organisers have set a double header on Sunday with the losing semi-finalists, Dynamos and Motor Action, clashing in a third place play-off scheduled for 12:30pm.
“In a cup final there is no small team and we expect a tough outing on Sunday,” said Chilumba.
“It’s always the team that scores more in a cup game that wins at the end of the day. So we have to be at our best in all departments.”
Chipangano are still in high spirits following the 3-0 thrashing of Jamhuri in Zanzibar in their opening game of the Confederation Cup competition.
FC Platinum were also making a flying start to their maiden Champions League campaign on the same weekend with a comprehensive 4-2 win over Green Mamba of Swaziland, to set the stage for a thrilling tie this Sunday.
Chilumba said he was impressed by his team and can only hope for an even better performance against fellow miners, FC Platinum, who also appear to be on top of their game. Hwange have a mixture of youth and experience and they have appointed 23-year-old Rodwell Chinyengetere as their captain this season.
“I am happy with the team,” said Chilumba.
“The players are gelling well and I can say we are now a complete team although there is always room for improvement. The biggest challenge however is to win some form of silverware for the club. The owners of the team are putting in something and we have to pay them back by winning trophies.
“This doesn’t mean that we have to put pressure on the players and the technical team,” said Chilumba.
Hwange paid a big price in Zanzibar following an ankle injury to their striker Evans Rusike.
The former Zimbabwe Saints man has been ruled out of the final and is likely to be on the sidelines for long.
“Evans only played a few minutes and we had to take him off because of the injury. I spoke to the doctor and he says it may take days or weeks for him to recover fully.
“Of course it’s a blow because he is part of the team. He is still young and has a lot of potential. We wouldn’t want to ruin his career by rushing him back into the game,” said Chilumba.