Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
A LOCAL derby is unpredictable and Bulawayo City coach Philani Ncube is pinning his hopes on that as he battles to turn his side’s fortunes against city rivals Chicken Inn in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match on Saturday.
The teams will square off at Luveve Stadium in desperate need of three points, albeit for different reasons.
Chicken Inn are still in the title race, while City want to climb up the ladder from the bottom spot.
City have only managed one win in 11 matches and although things have not gone according to script for Ncube, that has not stopped him from putting on a brave face in the midst of his woes.
He acknowledges that his team is struggling, but refuses to throw in the towel.
“We will give it our best. We will play to the best of our abilities. In as much as we accept that we are struggling, we are preparing to put up a good fight in our next game. I can tell you the morale in camp is positive despite our struggles. We hope we can maintain that spirit into the weekend. We hope to come out with a positive result on Sunday. This being a derby, we hope the same thing that happened when we faced Highlanders will happen when we face Chicken Inn. We hope to turn the tables in this game,” said Ncube.
City brought in goalkeeper Reward Muza and striker Roddy Sibanda on loan from Highlanders to bolster their squad during the just ended window.
Ncube says they have been doing well and he will continue to assess them hoping that they will be of value in the municipal side’s quest for survival.
Chicken Inn will not be an easy assignment for City, as they are still nursing wounds inflicted on them in their last match during their visit to Gweru to face Whawha.
The GameCocks were humbled 3-0 by the hosts and subsequently dislodged from the top of the league table by Dynamos. The two sides are tied on 23 points, but DeMbare enjoy a superior goal difference.
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas described the defeat by Whawha as embarrassing and his charges will be looking to bounce back to winning ways quickly when they encounter City.
Fixtures
Saturday: Tenax CS FC vs Yadah (Sakubva),
Harare City vs Black Rhinos (National Sports Stadium), FC Platinum vs Highlanders (Mandava), Chicken Inn vs Bulawayo City (Luveve), ZPC Kariba vs Ngezi Platinum Stars (Nyamhunga)
Sunday: Cranborne Bullets vs Herentals (Sakubva),
Dynamos vs Manica Dynamos (National Sports Stadium), Bulawayo Chiefs vs Whawha (Luveve), Triangle United vs Caps United (Gibbo)
– @innocentskizoe
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