adminRay Bande Senior Sports Reporter
MUTARE-BORN Protasho Kabwe, who is now turning out for Sunday ‘Mhofu’ Chidzambwa’s ZPC Kariba, is expecting his new paymasters to put the final nail on Buffaloes’ coffin when the two teams clash at Sakubva Stadium on Wednesday.
The domestic top-flight league will take a break this weekend to pave way for the Easycall Cup matches, but relegation haunted Buffaloes will host ZPC Kariba in a rescheduled midweek fixture set for Wednesday when league action resumes.
Interestingly, eminent gaffer Chidzambwa is coming to Sakubva stadium for the first time after his return to the domestic top flight league.
“I will be back at Sakubva for a different cause this time around. I am playing for ZPC Kariba and I am sure everyone understands that I have to do the best for the club that I am working for.
Well, it hurts to see Buffaloes going down being my home team, but such is the nature of the game that you have to give it your best for the team that you are playing for at that particular moment,” Kabwe said in a telephone interview early this week from his new base.
The Mutare soldiers are also in real danger of being relegated to Division One at the end of the season although they still enjoy a mathematical chance to survive relegation.
Obviously, Buffaloes will be praying that Tsholotsho will be on the receiving end when the Bulawayo side plays against title chasers, Chicken Inn on the same day that they will be entertaining ZPC Kariba at Sakubva Stadium.
A defeat for Tsholotsho at the hands of Chicken Inn and a win for Buffaloes against ZPC Kariba will leave Buffaloes and Tsholotsho with the same number of points with two matches remaining before the curtain comes down on the 2015 Castle Lager Premiership season.
Interestingly, both Buffaloes and Tsholotsho still have trick assignments among the remaining three matches of the season and the final outcome of who goes to Division One appears set to be decided on the final day of the season.
The Bulawayo side, however, appears to have a better chance of survival than their Mutare counterparts given the current three points advantage that they enjoy over Saul Chaminuka’s men.
Chaminuka, who will be facing the very team that fired him early in the season before he joined Buffaloes, reckons that the match against ZPC Kariba is a must win if ever his team entertains hopes of being part of the domestic top-flight league next season.
“It is a must win encounter and everyone in the team understands that. We are confident that we will win it. It is not going to be an easy task given the fact that we all know that ZPC Kariba are a good side and we can never afford to underestimate them.
“It is even tricky when one considers the fact that this is the team I was coaching last season. As much I would want to prove a point to them, they will also be out to prove a point to me and that makes the whole thing a bit complicated,” said Chaminuka.
The Warriors’ assistant coach said he was confident that Buffaloes would move from the drop zone.
“Yes, we are fighting relegation, but I am quite confident that we will escape. We will not be relegated. Remember, Tsholotsho also have tricky fixtures including the one they will be playing against Chicken Inn when we play ZPC Kariba. Therefore it is early to rule us out. We still have a good chance to escape relegation,” said Chaminuka.Buffaloes are becoming used to fighting for dear life on the last day of the season and it appears the 2015 season presents a similar scenario for Chaminuka and his men.
Buffaloes had the chance to ease their relegation woes when they played host to Thsolotsho and Hwange in recent two league matches at Sakubva Stadium.
That they lost to Thsolotsho and drew with Hwange at home at Sakubva makes it difficult to keep the hope that they will beat Triangle, Dynamos or even ZPC Kariba – the three teams that they will play in their remaining matches of the season.
Somehow, Chaminuka’s men conspired to disappoint their fans when they dropped five crucial points that could have made their job lighter in this battle to evade the dreaded chop, only if they had won both matches against Tsholotsho and Hwange at home.
Remaining matches for Buffaloes: ZPC Kariba (home); Triangle (away); Dynamos (home):
Remaining matches for Tsholotsho: Chicken Inn (home); Harare City (home); Highlanders (away):
Easycall Cup quarter final fixtures:
Sartuday: ZPC Kariba FC v Chicken Inn FC (Nyamhunga Stadium):
Caps United FC vs Hwange FC National Sports Stadium 1500hrs
Sunday: FC Platinum v Highlanders FC (Mandava Stadium); Dynamos FC v How Mine FC (Rufaro Stadium).
Online Reporter