Troubled Hwange FC are geared to put an end to their recent bad spell as they return to Castle Premiership action against Monomotapa at Rufaro Stadium tomorrow.
Report by Sukoluhle Mthethwa Hwange have lost twice to Shabanie Mine FC in their last two outings, bowing out of the Mbada Diamonds Cup in a 1-0 defeat last Sunday after the former asbestos miners had beaten them 2-1 in a league match.
Both matches were played at Maglas.
Monomotapa shared the spoils with relegation-threatened Blue Rangers in a 1-1 draw last Tuesday before progressing to the quarter-finals of the Mbada Diamonds Cup after edging Hardbody 3-2 in Beitbridge last Saturday.
Hwange coach Nation Dube is confident of a change in fortunes in tomorrow’s match.
“We have been going through a rough patch, but we are working hard to ensure that we go back to winning ways. The Monomotapa match is just like any other game, but we have to collect points from the match. It is not good for us to be losing points especially in the second half of the season,” he said.
Monomotapa, then coached by Taurai Mangwiro who has since moved to former champions Caps United, received a 5-1 hiding at the hands of Hwange at the Colliery in May, but have of late performed better than the coal miners in the league.
Monomotapa coach Biggie Zuze said he was not reading much into Hwange’ s poor run.
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“We are expecting a tough game because Hwange have more experienced players than us.
“They have been losing, but the coaches will change the team and any player who makes it into the team will want to give their best shot.
“So we expect a tough match, but we are ready because we want to consolidate our position on the log standings,” he said.
Monomotapa’s Tawanda Nyamandwe, Carlos Misi and Bright Chayambuka are nursing injuries, while Hwange’s duo of striker Francisco Zvikumbawire and Eric Chipeta are injured.
Ronald “Rooney” Chitiyo, scorer of the first hatrick in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, is suspended and all eyes will be on Kuda Musharu and Osborne Mukuradare.
Monomotapa are on position four on the log with 37 points from 21 games, while Hwange are on position 10 with 26 points from 20 games.
Hwange have one outstanding match against Dynamos which is set be heard by an arbitration panel after the Harare giants were awarded three points from a 4-2 match that was marred by violence at Rufaro Stadium in April.
