ZVISHAVANE town is abuzz with life ahead of the historic first major cup final between local clubs FC Platinum and Shabanie Mine.
Sukoluhle Mthethwa
The two Midlands clubs square off in the BancABC Sup8r Cup final at Mandava Stadium on Saturday.
While the bragging rights are in this encounter, but the greater motivation seems to be the first prize of $120 000.
Losers will pocket $70 000.
Both teams are eagerly waiting for the match day.
Shabanie Mine captain Tafadzwa Mombeshora yesterday said that they are ready for the cup game.
“Honours will be at stake when we play FC Platinum in the BancABC Sup8r final. The cup and the money are an icing on the cake because when we play FC Platinum the matches are always interesting.
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“We are ready for the game. It will be good for us the players, fans, coach and our families if we win this cup. We are hoping and praying that we will win the cup,” he said.
FC Platinum vice- captain Thabani Kamusoko also declared his readiness for the final.
“What I expect in the BancABC Sup8r Cup final is a win. We have been training very hard ahead of the game and I am confident that we can win the game. We are not under any pressure at all. What we want is just to win the game. If we are confident anything can happen and it will also help us in our next league games,” he said.
To get to the final of this year’s competition, Shabanie Mine started off by beating Chicken Inn 2-0 in the quarter-final before they defeated Dynamos 4-3 on penalties in the semi-finals at Barbourfields Stadium.
FC Platinum started off their campaign by booting out Highlanders 3-1 on penalties in the quarter-finals before dismissing Monomotapa 3-1 in the semi-finals.
While FC Platinum will be searching for their third silverware since they came into the league in 2011, Shabanie Mine will also want to end their cup drought having last won it in 2001 when they beat Dynamos 1-0 in the final of the BP League Cup.
Meanwhile, Castle Lager Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele says all is set for the Cup final.
“We are appealing to the fans to come out in the numbers for the BancABC Sup8r Cup final. The match will be under the spotlight because it is the first time for a derby between the two teams in a major cup final in Zvishavane.
“As PSL we are also appealing to fans not to invade the pitch because doing so can attract a fine of $8 000 to a club. The game should be played in a friendly manner.Fans should not throw missiles before, during or after the match,” said Ndebele.
He said if the match is deadlocked on full time the teams will go into extra time before engaging in penalties if there is no winner in regulation time.
