IT’S all about nerves now. With two matches remaining before the season ends, the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) title is well within Chicken Inn’s reach. But it is not theirs yet.
BY HENRY MHARA/SAKHELENI NXUMALO
The GameCocks have, in the past three weeks, shown a glimpse of title-race nerves, with draws in the matches they were expected to win.
Their supporters have every reason to be anxious.
ZPC Kariba was in the same situation last season, but failed to cope with the unparalleled pressure of the season’s climax, and it slipped through their fingers.
It was the same with Harare City in 2013. They fell apart at the final hurdle. Dynamos, the masters of smash-and-grab, were the beneficiaries in both occasions.
Yet, Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas believes his men will jump over the line. Victory in the remaining two matches, maybe one, would see them crowned champions for the first time in their short history in the top-flight league.
“We have got to try and hold our nerve in the remaining games and we have been boosted by the availability of Elvis Chipezeze, who was suspended for our last match,” Antipas said.
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The Bulawayo club host Harare City at Luveve Stadium this afternoon in tricky encounter and a victory would see them reach an assailable 58 points and crowned champions, should second-placed FC Platinum falter against Caps United at Mandava Stadium.
To do that, they should not allow for the nervousness — which has been evident in their last three matches, where they picked just three points — to come to play.
Surprisingly, Antipas is not losing sleep over the patchy form.
“The unpredictable nature of the football is what makes it the beautiful game. Not picking up maximum points in our last three games has not put us under any pressure and, in fact, the mood in our camp is very jovial, with the guys in good spirits,” he said.
Antipas, who led Motor Action to the PSL title in 2010, said invariably, experience would come into play.
Recent history, though, shows that a team that is able to fend off the jitters creeping into Antipas’ team, wins the title.
FC Platinum, like Dynamos in third place, still has a chance of winning the title, but, unfortunately, they have no control of their destiny.
The Norman Mapeza-coached side, who failed to cope with the bumpy surface of Larfage in the 1-1 draw with Flame Lily, host a resurgent Caps United at their well-manicured Mandava Stadium today, and know that only a win can keep them in the title hunt.
“We just leave everything in God’s hands,” Mapeza said. “We just hope to go out there and come out with a positive result.”
Dynamos, seeking a fifth consecutive title, have been in almost a similar situation in the four previous seasons, where they rose from the dead and ended up snatching the title from “obvious winners”.
The major difference now is that, unlike in previous years, they have two teams ahead of them to deal with. Even if they win against Chapungu at Rufaro Stadium this afternoon and against Buffaloes on the final day, they will need both Chicken Inn and FC Platinum to lose their matches.
The Tonderai Ndiraya-coached side are in a complicated position and finding it difficult this time around to pull a Houdini Act. Yet, Ndiraya hasn’t lost hope.
“Mathematically, we are still in with a chance. We will not stop fighting. We have not lost hope, it can be done,” he said.
