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NewsDay

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DeMbare, Caps get home advantage

Sport
Success-hungry Harare giants Caps United and Dynamos will play their Easy-Call Cup quarter-final matches at home, but Highlanders will have to travel to Mandava to face FC Platinum in matches that will be played this weekend.

Success-hungry Harare giants Caps United and Dynamos will play their Easy-Call Cup quarter-final matches at home, but Highlanders will have to travel to Mandava to face FC Platinum in matches that will be played this weekend.

by Kevin Mapasure

Caps United will play Hwange at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday, the same day as ZPC Kariba face Chicken Inn at Nyamhunga.

On Sunday, Dynamos host How Mine at their home ground, Rufaro, while Bosso travel to Zvishavane to face Norman Mapeza’s trailblazers.

In the Castle Lager Premier League so far, Bosso is one of only three teams that managed a positive result at Mandava.

Highlanders and Dongo Sawmill managed to get two-all draws each against FC Platinum, while Chicken Inn are the only team to have won at Mandava, recording a 3-1 victory.

Castle Lager Premier Soccer League secretary-general, Kenny Ndebele said the seeded teams were given the benefit of playing at home in the quarter-finals.

Dynamos-celebrate-v-Hwange-550

He said neutral venues provided challenges with some matches recording losses with the league having to pay for some of the services.

“We said there had to be some benefit of being seeded,” Ndebele said. “We decided the seeded teams will play at home because we have had teams complaining that there is no benefit in being seeded. Also, in another cup competition, where we had neutral venues, the gate takings were not enough to pay the police and we had get money from elsewhere. We also anticipate that there might be television coverage for the Harare matches.”

The league is likely to encounter complaints from the teams that have been asked to play away, considering that they have not been consistent in allocating venues for one-off knock out cup competitions.

The EasyCall Cup is the final chance for the big three to at least get some silverware after an underwhelming league campaign. DeMbare still have a mathematical chance of winning the league title, but they know that in reality their best chance of any silverware is in the EasyCall Cup.

Their chances might have been boosted by getting a home tie in the quarter-finals, as they have proved difficult to beat in front of their home fans.

Likewise, Caps United have endured a season of difficulty, but there have been some promising performances. They are likely to give everything to win this cup and use it as a source of inspiration ahead of next season, which they are already looking forward to.

They have declared that they want to restore their Cup Kings billing and coach Lloyd Chitembwe, whom the fans have warmed up to since his return midway through the season, will be looking to cement his relationship with the bosses and the supporters with success in this competition.

Fixtures:

Saturday: ZPC Kariba v Chicken Inn (Nyamhunga), Caps United v Hwange (National Sports Stadium) Sunday: FC Platinum v Highlanders (Mandava), Dynamos v How Mine (Rufaro)