FC Platinum coach Tendai Chikuni believes his charges are in the right frame of mind to do battle with Bulawayo outfit Chicken Inn, in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match this afternoon at Mandava Stadium.
Report by Ephraim Shoko, Sports Correspondent
The gaffer said his side’s win over rivals Shabanie Mine in the Mbada Diamonds Cup last weekend at the same venue, had boosted confidence in the players, who are raring to take on the Bulawayo squad.
Chikuni added that in spite of a poor run in recent matches, that had seen the Platinum side losing three of their last five matches, his side had struck the right cord and was poised to win their remaining matches starting with this afternoon’s encounter.
“We are ready for Chicken Inn. Morale is high in camp and the players are raring to go. I think the win against Shabanie has really helped boost confidence in the guys who seem to have struck the winning cord,” said Chikuni.
The FC Platinum coach, however, acknowledged that Chicken Inn were a good side who needed to be treated with respect.
“Chicken Inn are a very good side. They play some enterprising football and we have to be wary of that and not be complacent. We are, however, aiming for a positive result and everyone is well psyched up for the match,” Chikuni said.
The Zvishavane side might go into the match missing the services of strikers Benjamin Marere, Donald Ngoma and midfielder Allan Gahadzikwa, who picked up knocks during the Zvishavane derby last weekend.
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Chikuni said the three players are being monitored closely to see if they can make it fit in time for the match.
Chicken are also not spared injury woes and will be missing the services of Cannan Nkomo, Moodley Njeleza and Lenience Mpofu.
The Bulawayo side’s gaffer Adam Ndlovu was, however, unfazed by the injuries saying the absence of the three players would not affect his team much as he had able replacements.
“We have enough cover for the injured players. There are guys who can do the job for us.
“We have a large pool of players who can match the Platinum stars blow for blow and I am confident of that,” he said.
Ndlovu added that he will be travelling to Zvishavane aiming for maximum points to push his side into ending the season in a respectable position on the log.
“Obviously at this stage of the league we would want to collect maximum points from the remaining games so that we finish the season strongly,” he said.
Chicken inn are third on the log with 44 points while Platinum are ranked seventh with 38 points.
The last time the two teams met, they played to a one-all draw at Luveve.
