REIGNING Castle Lager Premier Soccer League champions Chicken Inn take on Hwange at Luveve Stadium tomorrow in Match Day 22 for a game, which could not be played at the weekend as the GameCocks had three players on national duty in Guinea.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
Defenders Lawrence Mhlanga and Teenage Hadebe and midfielder Tafadzwa Kutinyu travelled with the Warriors for the last Group L Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifier tie against Guinea, which was played in Conakry on Sunday.
Chicken Inn have struggled this year and sit on an unfamiliar position nine on the log table with 28 points albeit winning their last encounter against struggling Tsholotsho.
The inconsistent form leaves head coach Rahman Gumbo and assistant Sikhumbuzo “China” Banda with the task of lifting the team from its current position with 27 points to play for before the end of the season.
Banda replaced Thulani Sibanda, who quit early last month, saying he had failed to meet his target of 20 points in 10 matches since taking over as assistant after the departure of Joey Antipas and assistant Prince Matore to South Africa’s AmaZulu.
The GameCocks go into tomorrow’s match without striker Obadiah Tarumbwa, who was shown a red card in the game against Tsholotsho for a second bookable offence.
Hwange are equally not in a good position on the log table, sitting on position 13, just a point behind Chicken Inn and coach Mebelo Njekwa says he expects a tough encounter tomorrow as both sides seek to move up the ladder with the few games remaining to the end of the season.
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The coal miners are without the league’s leading scorer Gift Mbweti, who has accumulated three yellow cards.
“If you look at the log table, we are very close with Chicken Inn and we are expecting a very tough match as each one of us wants to move steps higher. Chicken Inn are the champions but as much as we respect them, I think we will come out with something from Luveve,” Njekwa said.
In Mbweti’s absence Hwange will be pinning their hopes on veteran striker Gilbert Zulu to lead from the front.
The two sides shared the spoils in a goalless draw at the Colliery in June.
After tomorrow’s match, Chicken Inn travel to Harare away to Caps United at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday, while Hwange return home to host ZPC Kariba at the Colliery.
Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Matchday 23 Fixtures
Friday: Chapungu v Harare City (Ascot)
Saturday: Ngezi Platinum Stars v Bulawayo City (Baobab), Tsholotsho v Border Strikers (Luveve), FC Platinum v How Mine (Mandava)
Sunday: Caps United v Chicken Inn (National Sports Stadium), Hwange v ZPC Kariba (Colliery), Mutare City Rovers v Triangle United (Sakubva), Highlanders v Dynamos (Barbourfields)
