adminthat the Mighty Bulls will bounce back and successfully defend their Castle Lager Premiership crown.
Joey Antipas’ men, who have been going through a bad patch in the league, crashed to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of CAPS United and lost their place at the top of the table.
The Mighty Bulls slipped into third place on 43 points.
The race for the Castle Lager Premiership crown took an interesting turn when FC Platinum returned to the summit while Dynamos kept alive their chase for honours.
FC Platinum’s 2-0 win over Blue Ribbon on Saturday thrust them back in control with 46 points, one ahead of Dynamos who moved into second place for the first time this season with a 2-0 victory over Monomotapa.
Motor Action were the biggest losers among the top three when they suffered a 0-2 defeat to CAPS United, which cost them their place at the top after holding on for six weeks.
The rapidly improving Green Machine, who have been a solid team since the return of coach Lloyd Chitembwe, were once again indebted to the inspiration provided by the in-form Evans Gwekwerere.
But Bulls’ skipper Jani said there would be further twists and turns in the race.
“The race is still on. We might have lost on Sunday but it’s just one of the setbacks any team can face in the race,” said Jani.
“It was a wake up call for us nonetheless. Now we need to show our character and stand up for the championship. It’s not going to be easy though but we have to try our best and collect maximum points in all remaining games,” said Jani.
Motor Action will face Blue Ribbon in their next assignment and they still have games against Shabanie Mine, Shooting Stars, Dynamos, Gunners and Black Mambas.
FC Platinum emerged from the weekend’s games the biggest winners after Rahman Gumbo’s men finally rediscovered their winning formula, having gone without a win in their previous five matches.
While the top two teams have been dropping points in their last five games, Dynamos have been covering ground and are now back in the picture with a big claim to the destiny of this year’s championship.
DeMbare have been on a recovery path since the arrival of Callisto Pasuwa as coach just over a month ago.
They have collected all 15 points on offer and they maintained a 100 percent winning run courtesy of goals from Roderick Mutuma and the impressive Tawanda Muparati on Sunday.
Team captain George Magariro, however, said they would not be carried away because they have a difficult schedule ahead of them.
Traditional rivals Highlanders and defending champions Motor Action are standing in their way and they also have to travel to FC Platinum, Masvingo and Hwange before winding up their campaign with relegation candidates Kiglon.
“It’s going to be tight to the end. The team has been doing well of late but there is no point to get excited at this moment because we still have six games to play.
“I think we have just entered the most important phase of the competition now and we wouldn’t want to drop points cheaply.” We just have to keep focused.
“Our coach emphasises discipline and strict adherence to instruction. If you want to play in his team then you have to shape into his plans and I am happy the guys are responding well,” said Magariro.
DeMbare will play Masvingo in their next game.
The relegation puzzle is also taking shape at the other end of the table where Zimbabwe Saints, Shooting Stars and Kiglon seem to be drifting further away from the rest of the pack in a league of their own.
The three teams were left tied on 21 points after encountering another round of disappointing results.
Kiglon suffered a 3-1 defeat to fellow relegation fighters Shabanie Mine while Shooting Stars were shot down by the ever-improving Gunners who have enjoyed a remarkable recovery under Moses Chunga.
Zimbabwe Saints salvaged a point from the 0-0 draw in a low-key Bulawayo derby against mid-table side Chicken Inn.
Shabanie Mine and Black Mambas are also not safe on 27 points.
Online Reporter