adminRicky Zililo Sports Reporter
ALL teams in the Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League will play the remainder of their games on the same day and at the same time to avoid match fixing.
Five clubs — Black Boots, Technosphere, Tsholotsho FC, Plumtree Chiefs and Ntabazinduna — are vying for the title while Quelaton and Old Nic Mine are fighting for survival.
“All remaining games will be played on the same day and at the same time because we have reached a crucial stage in as far as the championship race is concerned. By so doing, we are avoiding a situation where other teams gain an unfair advantage by playing at a time when other clubs that they are competing with have had their games,” said Zifa Southern Region administrator Augustine Ndlovu.
Table toppers Black Boots reclaimed top post on Sunday after beating Trumus 2-0 in Victoria Falls, 24 hours after Technosphere had registered a memorable 4-2 victory against Ntabazinduna who had gone into the weekend on position two.
Technosphere’s win saw them dislodge their opponents from second position after taking their points tally to 39, the same as Tsholotsho FC, after 20 matches, and three behind Black Boots who have played a game more.
For Ntabazinduna, the defeat saw them sliding three places down the ladder to settle on fifth position tied on 37 points with Plumtree Chiefs who walked over Portland Cement.
Tsholotsho FC collected maximum points against relegation threatened Old Nic Mine with their chief striker Edmore Chirambadare grabbing a brace to take his goal scoring account to eight, the same as Black Boots’ Simon Njeleza. Lynos Chikuva scored the other goal for Tsholotsho.
ZPC Hwange’s title chase took a knock as they lost 0-1 to Hwange Juniors in a coal mining town derby. ZPC Hwange were left stuck on 35 points. The weekend’s results have set a tone for an exciting finish which will see title chasing clubs facing each other along the way.
Some of the interesting top of the table clashes include Week 22’s Black Boots v Tsholotsho duel as well as Week 23’s Tsholotsho FC v Technosphere and Plumtree Chiefs v Ntabazinduna.
There is a big possibility of the championship race going to the wire with the winners being decided on the last day of the season when Ntabazinduna will face Black Boots with Technosphere squaring off with Plumtree Chiefs while Tsholotsho FC will wrap up their season with an away trip to tricky Mpumalanga in Hwange.
Black Boots’ Sydney Madzvimbo said they would not get carried away with the number one spot but would continue to take each game as it comes until the end of the season.
Remaining Top 5 Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League Fixtures
Week 21: Tsholotsho FC v Elephants, Black Boots v Old Nic Mine, Technosphere v Quelaton, Mpumalanga v Plumtree Chiefs, Hwange Juniors v Ntabazinduna
Week 22: Black Boots v Tsholotsho FC, Elephants v Technosphere, Ntabazinduna v New West, Plumtree Chiefs v ZPC Hwange
Week 23: Tsholotsho FC v Technosphere, Portland cement v Black Boots, Plumtree Chiefs v Ntabazinduna
Week 24: Tsholotsho FC v Portland Cement, Hwange Juniors v Technosphere, Mpumalanga v Black Boots, Plumtree Chiefs v Quelaton, Ntabazinduna v Trumus
Week 25: Tsholotsho FC v Hwange Juniors, New West v Technosphere, Black Boots v ZPC Hwange (game already played Black Boots won 1-0), Elephants v Plumtree Chiefs, Old Nic Mine v Ntabazinduna
Week 26: Mpumalanga v Tsholotsho FC, Technosphere v Plumtree Chiefs, Ntabazinduna v Black Boots
Zifa Southern Region Division One Soccer League Weekend Results
Saturday: Quelaton 1-2 Elephant FC, Tsholotsho FC 3-0 Old Nic Mine, Technosphere 4-2 Ntabazinduna, ZPC Hwange 0-1 Hwange Juniors, New West 3-0 Mpumalanga, Plumtree Chiefs 3-0 Portland Cement (walkover)
Sunday: Trumus 0-2 Black Boots.
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