SHABANIE Mine, basking in the glory of lifting the BancABC Sup8r Cup at the weekend after beating FC Platinum in a penalty shoot-out, return to Mandava Stadium on Saturday to once again lock horns with Chicken Inn in the preliminary round of the 2013 Mbada Diamonds Cup.
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Chicken Inn fell 2-0 to Shabanie Mine at Mandava on June 28 to bow out of the quarter-final of the Sup8r Cup with goals from the worrisome hard-running Tarisai Rukanda and Pervington Zimunya.
Five days before that Chicken Inn had dismissed Shabanie Mine 2-1 at Maglas Stadium, coming from behind to collect maximum points with goals coming from Canaan Nkomo and Tendai Ndoro, who has since joined Mpumalanga Black Aces in South Africa.
Zimunya had scored first for Shabanie as early as the ninth minute.
The two sides played a 1-1 draw in the reverse league fixture on July 5, Ndoro was on target again for the GameCox before Rukanda snatched the equaliser for Shabanie Mine.
But the former asbestos miners, coached by Luke Masomere have slackened in the league, but appear to have an edge over Chicken Inn, buoyant after winning the Sup8r Cup on Saturday and after dumping the GameCox out of the quarter-final of the BancABC tournament.
But Chicken Inn are not new to cup tournament games at Mandava Stadium where they clinched the NetOne Charity Shield after beating Caps United 3-2 in the final on March 10 in a nervy ending to the match which they led 3-0 for 80 minutes before the Greem Machine scored two goals in the last 10 minutes.
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The Mandla Mpofu-coached Chicken Inn scored courtesy of a Marshal Marima brace, with the third goal by Tendai Mukambi.
But both sides exited the country’s richest football tournament in the early stages with Chicken Inn falling to a youthful Gunners side 3-2 after allowing the Moses Chunga-coached team to come back from behind at Pelandaba Stadium in Gwanda.
Shabanie Mine were bundled out of the quarter-finals of the same tournament 0-1 by Platinum at Mandava Stadium last year.
Meanwhile, Highlanders who have been unlucky in the cup tournament, will be home at Barbourfields (BF) to Triangle in the first round on Sunday.
BF will play host to a double header as giant killers, PSL new boys How Mine will take on soldiers Black Rhinos in the first match at 1pm before the Bosso match at 3pm. Hwange entertain FC Platinum at the Colliery.
The Shabanie Mine-Chicken Inn tie at Mandava and the How Mine-Black Rhinos and Highlanders-Triangle double
header at BF matches will be beamed on SuperSport.
