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BCC lights too costly for Chicken Inn

Sport
Chicken Inn failed to conduct any training sessions under floodlights after the Bulawayo City council demanded $4 000 an hour for use of a lit Barbourfields Stadium.

Chicken Inn failed to conduct any training sessions under floodlights after the Bulawayo City council demanded $4 000 an hour for use of a lit Barbourfields Stadium.

SAKHELENI NXUMALO

The Gamecocks left yesterday hoping to have a couple of training session under lights in South Africa ahead of the Saturday night Caf Champions League preliminary round second leg tie against hosts Mamelodi Sundowns.

Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas
Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas

Head coach Joey Antipas is desperate to expose his charges to playing under floodlights, since local players do not have that experience, with all matches being played during the day. The match against Sundowns kicks off at 8:30 pm.

The Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions travelled with a 26-member delegation, which had 18 players, seven officials and the head of delegation, Dennis Tshuma, the Zifa Matabeleland North province chairman.

Speaking ahead of the team’s departure, Chicken Inn official, Tawengwa Hara said they were leaving early so they could line up some training sessions under floodlights in South Africa.

“It was not possible to train under floodlights here because the deposit we were asked to pay for an hour was too exorbitant,” he said.

“It was almost about $4 000 for an hour at Barbourfields and we could not part with that much money. That is why the team is leaving early for South Africa because the rates that we were promised there were very low.” Plans to train at the Khumalo Hockey Stadium, where charges are lower, were scuppered by the poor state of the playing surface at the facility.

Hara said the Gamecocks may end up not having to pay to have their training sessions under floodlights, as they have received offers to train for free from a couple of universities in South Africa.

Antipas said, while scoring an away goal would put Sundowns under immense pressure, his charges would continue to exercise caution.

“With a bit of luck, if we can get a goal, it will put Sundowns under pressure, because, as you know, in an away tie, one goal counts for double,” he said.

“We are, however, not going to just go out there and attack Sundowns, but we have to come up with a game plan that will suit us, a game plan that will work for us.”

In the first match that the Gamecocks won 1-0 courtesy of a brilliant strike by Michelle Katsvairo, they sat back and waited to pounce on the break.

This type of play frustrated Sundowns, who enjoyed a lot of possession in the middle third, but could not penetrate the Chicken Inn defensive lines.

Gamecocks and Warriors defender, Lawrence Mhlanga said the first leg fixture was water under the bridge and they were focused on the second leg encounter.

“It’s a new game and we can no longer revel in the first leg result, but have to concentrate on the weekend encounter and ensure that we go through to the next stage of the competition,” he said.

The winner of the preliminary round encounter between the Gamecocks and Amasandawana will face Congolese outfit AC Leopards in the first round of the 2016 Caf Champions League tournament.