Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
EVANS Kamombo — the man who single-handedly architectured the rebirth of Mutare Castle Lager Premiership outfit, Manica Diamonds out of his love for Manicaland Province — is not only bubbling with confidence that the team will survive relegation, but will emerge victorious when they face FC Platinum on Sunday at Sakubva Stadium.
The match starts at 3pm.
Sunday’s match is a must-win for Manica Diamonds, at least for the Mutare top-flight side to entertain reasonable hopes of recharging the batteries for a better second half of the season.
Kamombo is a confident man.
“I have no doubt that we are not relegation material. We will fight tooth and nail to ensure that we remain part of this elite league. In fact, starting from this match against FC Platinum we have to ensure that we stamp authority and be consistent.
“Yes, as a club we have gone through a rough patch, especially before we came in. When we came in, we managed to turn things around, and the club started getting results. We had a loss of form in the previous two matches, and that was regrettable, but it is part of the game of football. We are now geared to do the needful, and finish the season in the Premiership,” he said.
To their advantage, FC Platinum is no longer the formidable outfit it was under coach, Norman Mapeza, and Manica Diamonds, if their players are determined, can possibly grind a result.
Only last week, Ngezi Platinum claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory at Mandava Stadium over FC Platinum, with goals from Macdonald Eddisone and Polite Moyo respectively.
After all, there was a time not so long ago when the clash between Ngezi Platinum Stars and FC Platinum generated a lot of interest — ‘Platinum Derby’ they called it.
The battle for supremacy was real, high-octane stuff, and top-drawer performances characterised clashes between the two sides.
FC Platinum bagged the league title four times, with three of those coming on the trot, while Ngezi Platinum won it once in 2023.
For some time, platinum sides ruled Zimbabwean football.
Somehow, along the way, they both lost their bearings and failed to build on their successes.
Unlike FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum Stars, however, appear to have come off the worst from this fall from grace.
And Manica Diamonds coach, Patrick Mandizha is aware of this.
Mandizha said: “Just like us, FC Platinum have not been getting the results they desired. In the first round they took all three points from us at Mandava Stadium. But at Sakubva Stadium it shall be a different ball game altogether. We will strive to be at our all-time best and hope for a good result. We are confident to get that positive result.”
On their recent past two matches that they dropped points, Mandizha said:
“We dropped six valuable points on the road. This is not a desirable scenario in our quest to move away from the relegation matrix. In the second round, collecting crucial points becomes increasingly difficult as most teams utilise the mid-season window to beef up their squads. A draw on the road is not entirely bad. We are also looking forward to strengthen our own squad. We are quite confident that this will help the team get maximum points especially at home.”
