THE $500 000 One Wallet Cup explodes into life this afternoon with two matches at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane.
THANDIWE MOYO/SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA
The competition, launched on Wednesday, is sponsored by NetOne and comes with a handsome package of $270 000 in prize money.
Winners take home $80 000 for just 270 minutes of play, while the two teams that lose today get $20 000 each. The losing semi-finalists will get $30 000 while the losing finalists will be $50 000 richer.
Harare City v Triangle (Today, Mandava, 1pm)
Harare City coach Bigboy Mawiwi says they are up to the challenge.
“We are ready for the Cup game. We know that Triangle are a good side and they have a very good coach, Biggie Zuze. But we want to win the match. It is a different game because the position on the log table does not come into perspective,” he said.
Zuze says they are anticipating an exciting tie.
- 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
“This is a cup game so we will fight very hard. We know our opponents didn’t start off well in the league like us but anything can happen in a cup game. We want to progress and go as far as we can. We expect a very good match,” he said.
Triangle player Charles Rukwanhi, who picked up an injury against Bantu Rovers last week is out, Chasten Ngondonga and Courage Denias are doing light training while Harare City’s duo of Talent Chawapihwa and Nomore John are also nursing injuries.
FC Platinum vs Chicken Inn (Today, Mandava, 3pm)
Chicken Inn will be without influential anchorman Brian Juru who is away in South Africa for trials with South African Premier Soccer League side Platinum Stars when they take on FC Platinum.
FC Platinum are searching for their third silverware this season after they lifted the CG Msipa Charity Shield and Independence Trophy while Chicken Inn are eyeing their second silverware since they gained promotion into the top flight league after they won the NetOne Charity Shield last year.
Juru’s absence was felt when the Bulawayo side lost 1-2 to Caps United in a league match at Luveve Stadium a fortnight ago when he was facing a one match suspension.
FC Platinum also go into this match missing four key players who include Daniel Vheremu, Donald Ngoma, Nelson Mazivisa and former Under 23 captain Qadr Amini.
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas said they were ready for the match although they would miss two of their key players.
“This is a cup game and there has to be a winner. We will treat it as such and we will do what should be done when playing a cup game. That is to go out and attack and hopefully emerge victorious. Brian Juru will be away because he is attending trials with Platinum Stars (South Africa). He will be missed, but we just have to move on. We will also be without Danny Phiri who is injured,” he said.
The Gamecocks have been unpredictable this season in the league making it interesting to see how they will fare against the Zvishavane side.
“We have been very inconsistent in the league, but this is a different competition altogether. Anything can happen,” he said. FC Platinum coach Lloyd Mutasa conceded that a tough task lies ahead.
“Like any other team, our target is to win because it is a cup game. The ball is round; it can go anywhere.
“We need to score more goals than the other team because there is no draw. This is a different ball game so the better team of the day will win,” he said.
On missing key players Mutasa said: “They are very important members in our team, but we have quite a number of players who can fill the void. When we registered our players, we knew that at some time we would be handicapped in that manner.”
