HIGHLANDERS will be crowned the 2013 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League winners if they beat contenders Harare City at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday and Dynamos lose to Chicken Inn.
FORTUNE MBELE SPORTS REPORTER
The championship could be Bosso’s on Sunday if they win that match, but that will only depend on their neighbours Chicken Inn beating Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium (BF) on the same day.
Highlanders leapt back on top of the log standings on Wednesday after beating Triangle 1-0 in a drama-filled match at Barbourfields increasing their tally to 51 points after DeMbare and Harare City played draws and are both a point behind Bosso.
If Bosso beat City on Sunday and Dynamos lose, they would then bank on FC Platinum (48 points) losing or playing a draw to How Mine on Sunday, then the Bulawayo giants would reach an unassailable 54 points with all the four teams remaining with one match.
After Ozias Zibande scored way into the 16 minutes added time, Highlanders head coach Kelvin Kaindu admitted that the most important game for Bosso would be the Harare City match.
“The most important one is the Harare City game. I don’t want to comment more, but it’s not going to be easy,” Kaindu, who will not be available for that match as he left for the United Kingdom yesterday to attend a Uefa B Licence coaching course, said.
The Bulawayo giants will take on Shabanie Mine in their last game at BF, where they have not played well this year. Bosso’s trump card in the Harare City match would be the returning veteran striker Njabulo “Tshiki” Ncube from suspension, but Kaindu said his inclusion in the squad would not be automatic.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“It is not going to be automatic. I train a squad, not a team and it is not automatic that he will be part of the team. Every player that is in the team is important,” Kaindu said.
Judging by the type of play on Sunday, Highlanders will have to up their game against City who were held to a goalless draw by Motor Action and would definitely be looking forward to getting three points for a final day title decider next weekend where they will be away to Caps United.
On the other hand Kalisto Pasuwa’s Dynamos faltered on Wednesday after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Shabanie Mine and they will face Chicken Inn who have gone for three matches without a defeat since they enlisted the services of coach Joey Antipas.
Chicken have scored seven goals in the three matches, sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Monomotapa, beating FC Platinum 2-0 and were on the rampage on Wednesday, thumping relegated Tripple B 4-1 at Dulibadzimu Stadium in Beitbridge.
Leading scorer Tendai Ndoro banged his 17th goal in that game and will definitely be looking forward to increasing his tally against Dynamos on Sunday on his way to winning the 2013 Golden Boot award.
Triangle will be away to Shabanie Mine at Maglas Stadium and will have to make several changes to their squad after captain Limited Chikafa and goalkeeper Brighton Chipula were red carded by referee Bekezela Makeka on Wednesday at BF. Chipula though, is an unlucky man. He said he had a muscle injury which led to his collapse while his coach said he had broken his finger.
Either way, the referee should have given him the benefit of the doubt and left everything in the hands of the Triangle medical team.
Fixtures Tomorrow: Motor Action v Caps United (Rufaro) SS9, Sunday: Chicken Inn v Dynamos (Barbourfields), Black Mambas v Tripple B (Morris Depot), How Mine v FC Platinum (Luveve), Buffaloes v Monomotapa (Sakubva), Black Rhinos v Hwange (Rimuka), Harare City v Highlanders (Rufaro) SS9, Shabanie Mine v Triangle (Maglas)
