admin“Shabanie are not pushovers. I respect them and they have been working very hard this season.
They dwell on teamwork, have good fighting spirit and I feel we have to accord them the respect” said Chikuni.
FC Platinum managed to collect maximum points over the miners last season winning 3-1 at Maglas Stadium before finishing off the struggling miners 1-nil through a hotly disputed penalty.
“I am not dwelling on history. It does not play a part in this match and it is also our first time to meet in a cup game. It is not going to be easy for any team and I am not thinking of any other game before I am done with this one,” said the 36-year-old coach who was a bit cautious.
“There is money involved so it will be a different ball game altogether. It is the players who will decide the outcome of the match. I might have a game plan but with derbies it is very difficult,” said Chikuni.
Under Chikuni FC Platinum lifted their first silverware when they won the Bob 88 Super Cup after they beat Hwange 2-nil.
“We are not going to relax despite playing at home. We are the team which travelled the most distance in the Mbada cup when we went to Kariba and very few people gave us the chance to qualify but we managed to stun Harare City”
Luke “Vahombe”Masomere on the other hand might be seeking his first silverware with the asbestos miners and he knows that the match has a lot at stake.
“We have the home advantage but meeting Shabanie has always been difficult for us,” said Chikuni.
Last season the miners were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Dynamos and interestingly the winner between Shabanie and Platinum will meet the winner between Gunners and Dynamos.
The match has all the tonic of a cup final and one needs to be at Maglas to see the real rivalry which has been sadly missed in Zimbabwe over the years.
Online Reporter