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Black Rhinos, heavily wounded by a spate of negative results since the resumption of the championship race, have vowed to put the slide to a halt when they face Bantu Rovers at Luveve this afternoon.
The match, which will be the first of a double header in the football jamboree set for Luveve this afternoon, has been set for 1pm with Chicken Inn and Triangle coming up later.
Rhinos coach Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa yesterday said the army side needed to bounce back after losing substantial ground in the Premiership race.
Rhinos were among the pace-setters in the first half of the season but three defeats to Ngezi Platinum Stars, Chapungu and Dynamos have left them in a spot of bother.
“We have been going through a bad patch and we need a win to put that to a stop. So every game we play from now on is a key match. It’s very important to win this match so that we get our confidence back.
“We have been working very hard at that, we have been trying hard to psyche up the players and to lift them physically and mentally.
“Those big defeats to Chapungu and Ngezi Platinum Stars affected us in a big way. But you could see from the way we played against Dynamos in our last match that the boys are coming up.
“The will to win is there, the fighting spirit is there and we hope they take it up from there tomorrow,” said Mtizwa. The army side have been handicapped in the midfield after two of their key men Donald Mudadi and Wonder Kapinda were ruled out of this match.
Mudadi, who has been a revelation this year, will be serving suspension for picking up three yellow cards while veteran Kapinda has suffered a knock. They joined defender James Mukombwe on the sidelines.
Harare City will also be looking for redemption when they host Shabanie Mine at Rufaro this afternoon.
Kick-off has been restored at 3pm after plans to have a double header at the stadium flopped.
The Sunshine Boys had a good performance against giants Highlanders in Bulawayo in their last match and were unlucky to come out with only a point.
Fixtures
Today
FC Platinum v Bulawayo City (Mandava), Ngezi Platinum v Yadah (Baobab), Chapungu v How Mine (Ascot), Chicken Inn v Triangle ( Luveve, 3pm), Bantu Rovers v Black Rhinos (Luveve, 1pm), Harare City v Shabanie Mine (Rufaro), Dynamos v Hwange (NSS, 7pm)
Thursday
ZPC Kariba v Highlanders (Nyamhunga), Tsholotsho v CAPS United (Luveve)
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