AS the 2014 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season roars into life this weekend, Harare City coach Bigboy Mawiwi says they want to do better than they did last term.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Mawiwi watched his charges being beaten to a place in the final of the Independence Cup trophy by city rivals Dynamos following a 4-2 defeat in a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
The two teams went into the dreaded penalty shoot-out after 90 minutes failed to produce a winner, but it was Harare City who could have wrapped up the contest as they dominated play for longer periods especially in the second half in which they carved out good chances which they however, failed to put away.
Cliff Sekete sent Dynamos to the final of the Uhuru Cup after scoring the fourth spot kick after Augustine Mbara, Ronald Chitiyo and Themba Ndlovu had converted.
Harare City midfielder James Jam and Misheck Mburayi missed their spot kicks while Chrispen Dickson and Maxwell Nyamupanedengu converted theirs.
However, despite the defeat, Mawiwi says he is happy with his charges’ performance and believes they can better last season’s performance.
“I am pleased with the way we played although we lost on penalties. From the way we played against Dynamos we have better chances of winning the league title this season. There is great team spirit.
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“The players are playing for each other. They are playing as a team and we want to better last season’s performance. We know expectations will be high this season because of our performance last season. But we are ready for the challenge. We want to cross the finishing line first,” said Mawiwi.
Last season Harare City were beaten to the finishing line on goal difference on the last day of the league programme by Dynamos having led the table towards the end of the league marathon.
The Sunshine City Boys who had also thrashed Bulawayo giants Highlanders 4-0 in one of their crucial matches of the campaign eventually settled for third place with Highlanders finishing second in one of the most intriguing conclusion to the league championship.
Mawiwi still has sad memories of that failure to clinch the championship. “We played well last season and it was painful to fail to land the championship at the last hurdle. That gives us the strength to do better this time around,” said Mawiwi.
The league marathon is expected to kick off this weekend with Harare City making the trip to Bulawayo for a date with Chicken Inn.
