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Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE battle for survival in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League is increasingly getting nervous with as many as seven teams battling to secure safety as the league reaches its penultimate round this weekend.
Already one team – Arenel Movers – has been confirmed relegated and three more teams are set to face the chop in the last two rounds of play.
The axe is more likely to fall on fellow newboys Chegutu Pirates who need something of a miracle to evade the axe that is facing them directly.
They are currently in the relegation zone along with Hwange and Bikita Minerals. Also in the relegation matrix is Bulawayo Chiefs and ZPC Kariba while Yadah and TelOne are relatively safe.
Newboys Bikita Minerals, who shocked giants Highlanders 2-0 during the midweek, will this afternoon face another big test against 2015 champions Chicken Inn at Luveve.
The Lithium Boys occupy the last relegation slot with 35 points in the bag.
The result from today’s match could have a huge bearing on their fate, as all the other teams facing the same predicament are set to feature tomorrow.
Sadly, it is mostly the teams that were promoted this season that are facing the danger of being demoted.
It will be interesting how league debutants Chegutu pirates will fare in their remaining two games where nothing short of maximum points will do.
The Ghosts are set to host giants CAPS United at Baobab tomorrow, before rounding off their campaign away at Arenel Movers.
With 29 points from 32 points, Chegutu Pirates will effectively become the second team to be get officially relegated if they fail to beat Makepekepe at Baobab tomorrow.
“Zaire” as their legion of fans prefer to call them might still be relegated if they win, provided Bulawayo Chiefs who occupy 15th place pick up a point at home against ZPC Kariba tomorrow at Luveve.
Bulawayo Chiefs are on 35 points, which is the maximum that Maxwell Takaendesa Jongwe’s Pirates could attain. They also pray that Bikita Minerals will lose the last two matches against Chicken Inn (today) and Hwange.
Pirates’ greatest undoing is their huge goal deficit. They have a massive deficit of 17 goals, compared to Bulawayo Chiefs who have minus six and Bikita Minerals’ minus eight.
Pirates coach Jongwe, who saw his side slump to a 1-0 defeat by Herentals at Rufaro on Wednesday, admitted that they are now in real danger of dropping down to Division One.
“Mathematically, we might be in but we made our lives very difficult and miserable at the same time. We exhibited bad Zimbabwean football where we created only one meaningful chance. We need to improve on that. ”
“It is now difficult for us to survive the chop but we will fight until the end. The team tried hard as we wanted to survive the chop but we will take it from here,” said Jongwe.
Hwange are equally in danger as they could also slip back to Division One if they lose against Highlanders at the Colliery on Sunday. The coal miners have 32 points and the maximum they can get to is 38 points.
But they are not likely to find it easy as Bosso are coming from a shock defeat to another relegation candidate, Bikita Minerals. The giants will not want to lose twice in succession to struggling teams.
This will make Hwange’s last two games interesting as they also face Bikita Minerals at Sakubva in a massive relegation fight that will bring the curtain down on their campaign after the FIFA break.
Fixtures
Today: Chicken Inn v Bikita Minerals (Luveve), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Herentals (Baobab), Simba Bhora v FC Platinum (Wadzanayi)
Tomorrow: Chegutu Pirates v CAPS Utd (Baobab), TelOne v Arenel Movers (Ascot), Bulawayo Chiefs v ZPC Kariba (Luveve), Dynamos v Manica Diamonds (Rufaro), Yadah v GreenFuel (Heart Stadium), Hwange v Highlanders (Colliery)
Online Reporter