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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THRILLS and spills are expected in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League midweek fixtures where top teams will be out to keep their championship hopes on track, while bottom teams fight for survival.
With most Premiership clubs inactive last weekend due to the Chibuku Super Cup, teams that were resting will be hoping to use their energy wisely by collecting maximum points in the highly competitive league.
The major weekend highlight was Highlanders’ 3-0 thrashing of league champions FC Platinum in the Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final.
Championship dark horses ZPC Kariba, a distant eight points behind leaders Caps United, who are on 50 points off 27 games, eliminated Manica Diamonds from the Chibuku Super Cup, winning the encounter 2-1.
Ngezi Platinum Stars needed a 5-3 penalty shootout win against Black Rhinos to book a Chibuku Super Cup semi-finals slot after the match had ended 0-0 in regulation time.
The outstanding quarter-finals berth is a repeat of last year’s final between defending champions Triangle United and Harare City.
Triangle suffered a 0-2 away defeat to Nouadhibou of Mauritania in a Caf Confederation Cup on Sunday and have been spared the agony of playing a midweek game after their clash against Hwange was postponed to a later date.
With Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals done, giants Caps United, who were inactive, will be hoping to bounce back from last week’s 1-0 league loss to Chicken Inn when they play Herentals.
Caps United enjoy a four-point lead over Chicken Inn at the top and with inconsistency an Achilles heel for almost all league teams, the table toppers should be wary of Herentals, who are fighting for survival.
Herentals stunned Black Rhinos 3-0 last week; a result that lifted them into 14th place, just one place above the relegation zone.
Caps United were disjointed against Chicken Inn and had the Gamecocks been clinical, they would have embarrassed the Harare side.
Interim national team coach Joey Antipas leads his Chicken Inn side in an encounter against Harare City, which is coached by his assistant in the Warriors’ set-up Lloyd Chitembwe. Harare City grabbed a morale boosting 1-0 away win in Hwange.
Consistency has been Antipas’ headache, but he knows that victory against Harare City will keep them breathing heavily on Caps United’s neck. Harare City are on 31 points, two ahead of TelOne who occupy the last relegation slot.
TelOne take on Black Rhinos on Thursday.
Meanwhile, defending champions FC Platinum will be hoping to forget their 3-0 defeat to Highlanders when they take on fellow platinum miners Ngezi Platinum Stars at Mandava Stadium tomorrow.
FC Platinum are third on the table, tied on 46 points with Chicken Inn, who have a superior goal difference.
Dynamos, who edged Highlanders’ development side Bosso 90 1-0 in an anti-sanctions challenge match on Friday, travel to Rusape for a game against Manica Diamonds at Vengere Stadium tomorrow. DeMbare are unbeaten in 15 league matches, a feat that has been overshadowed by a series of draws. They’ve drawn 11 of those encounters, winning four.
On Thursday, resurgent Highlanders welcome log anchors Yadah to Barbourfields Stadium.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Bulawayo Chiefs vs Mushowani Stars (Luveve), Harare City vs Chicken Inn (Rufaro), Chapungu vs ZPC Kariba (Ascot), FC Platinum vs Ngezi Platinum Stars (Mandava), Manica Diamonds vs Dynamos (Vengere), Caps United vs Herentals (National Sports Stadium)
Thursday: Highlanders vs Yadah (Barbourfields), Black Rhinos vs TelOne (National Sports Stadium), Triangle United vs Hwange (postponed). — @ZililoR.
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