adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premiership side Buffaloes’ coach, Luke Masomere, has pleaded with soccer fans in Mutare to spare a thought for the sole top-flight league team in the province and throng Sakubva during this club’s moment of financial need.
Masomere’s men face Shabanie Mine at Sakubva Stadium on Sunday in a match the home team badly needs relief from, both on the field of play and on the terraces.
On the field of play, Buffaloes need all the three points from Sunday’s match to avoid any further descent on the log standings.
And on the terraces, the Mutare side, which has been running without a sponsor or even a donor this season, desperately needs the crowds at Sakubva given that they have been collecting gross takings of less than $1 000 in recent weeks.
For example, Masomere’s team realised a paltry $750 gross gate-takings in their last home match against Chiredzi FC.
The team had only managed to collect $1 050 gross gate-takings in the previous league encounter at home against Chapungu.
This is now the trend at Sakubva irrespective of the fact that the club needs to pay a total of $890 to five match officials that include the referee, the two assistant referees, the fourth official as well as the match commissioner.
As if that was not enough, Premier Soccer League deducts 6 percent from the total amount, while Zifa demands the same percentage.
The club also has to pay police officers an amount in the region of $150, while the custodians of the match venue — Mutare City Council — get 18 percent of the same amount.
The veteran coach told this publication that the time has come for people in Mutare to change their attitude and start helping the club that literally belongs to them.
“I really want to urge fans to come in their numbers. We have been trying our best under difficult circumstances, but I think the people in Mutare also need to play their part. The major role well-meaning soccer fans can play in supporting the team is to pay their way into the stadium as well as cheering the players on the field of play.
“If we fail to get the support of the fans we are doomed. We desperately need them and I am pleading with soccer-loving people from all corners of the province to support the team by coming to watch our home matches in their numbers,” he said.
The former Shabanie Mine coach said he was not reading too much into the cordial relationship that used to exist between him and the Shabanie Mine supporters.
“I have coached almost half of the teams in the Premiership hence the fact that I was once a Shabanie coach does not have any bearing on what will transpire on Sunday.
“In other words, I am used to playing against teams that I once coached hence Sunday will be business as usual. I am going for three points,” he said.
The respected gaffer in domestic football circles said his team will be under more pressure than their opponents on Sunday given that the Mutare side won the reverse fixture.
“I think the pressure is on us this time around. We beat them in the reverse fixture at Maglas and that complicates issues for us. Even simple Mathematics for some will reveal that if we managed to beat them 2-1 at their own backyard, we surely must beat them even by a wider margin now that we are playing at home hence the pressure on us to prove that victory at Maglas was not a fluke. Otherwise, Shabanie will be in a relaxed mood.
The self-styled ‘‘doctor of football’’ bemoaned the biased officiating his team was subjected to in last weekend’s league encounter against Chiredzi FC away at Chishamiso Stadium in Chiredzi.
“I have lost matches even at Sakubva, but I have never complained. The situation in Chiredzi was different. We were short-changed by the referee. The referee was clearly against us especially after we had equalised. He did all he could to make sure that the home team won and it worked well for them.
“The fouls, the yellow cards and all his decisions were all against us as he made sure that we were frustrated. I think referees need to give us better performance because if my team loses a match due to biased officiating it makes my job very difficult in that I would not know in what areas to make corrections during training,” he added.
Matchday 17 Fixtures:
Friday (today): Harare City v Chiredzi United (3pm SS):
Saturday: ZPC Kariba v Hwange (Gwanzura, 3PM, SS); FC Platinum v Chapungu (Mandava):
Sunday: CAPS United v Chicken Inn (NSS, SS); Buffaloes v Shabanie Mine (Sakubva); Highlanders v How Mine (Barbourfields); Black Rhinos v Dynamos (Rimuka); Triangle v Bantu Rovers (Gibbo).
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