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NewsDay

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Can Chunga spoil it for Mapeza?

Sport
TWO of Zimbabwe’s celebrated football legends Norman Mapeza and Moses Chunga will try to outwit each other when their clubs FC Platinum and Harare City clash at Rufaro Stadium this afternoon as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race reaches a thrilling crescendo.

TWO of Zimbabwe’s celebrated football legends Norman Mapeza and Moses Chunga will try to outwit each other when their clubs FC Platinum and Harare City clash at Rufaro Stadium this afternoon as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race reaches a thrilling crescendo.

BY HENRY MHARA

Mapeza, who became the only second Zimbabwean player to play in the UEFA Champions League after goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, appearing in the competition for Galatasaray in the 1990s, leads an FC Platinum side who are just five wins away from winning their first ever league title in their short history in the top flight, having been promoted in 2011.

Regarded as one of the best Warriors ever, and spoken about in the same breath as luminaries such as Peter Ndlovu — his team mate in the famed Dream Team — Mapeza knows that winning the remaining five matches will land him the league title, his second in his coaching career having accomplished the same feat with Monomotapa eight years ago.

FC Platinum have so far collected 51 points, one better than Caps United, who travel to Beitbridge to face Luke Masomere’s relegation strugglers Border Strikers.

Third placed Highlanders, the league’s form team having won their last five matches, are also in with a shout, with only four points separating the two teams. The Bulawayo giants aim to keep their title hopes alive when they travel to Chapungu, in a match whose significance cannot be overemphasised.

But it is the clash between Mapeza and Chunga, two of the finest footballers of their time, which is set to draw most of the attention this weekend.

If FC Platinum win, they will draw closer to redecorating their trophy cabinet. A loss could give Caps United the impetus with a victory at Dulivhadzimo.

Mapeza appears to be feeling the pressure as the season reaches the squeaky bum time, and his team has been struggling for consistency in recent weeks with just two wins and three draws in the last five games.

The man who will try to play the party pooper for Mapeza today is also one of the greatest players to emerge on the local football scene.

The star of the Warriors team between 1987–1991, Chunga joined City a few months ago with a mandate to secure a top-four finish.

While Chunga, who won his first league title with Gunners in 2009, is out of the title race with his team currently sitting seventh, he still believes the season’s target is still attainable.

He also warned Mapeza and his team to brace for a big fight.

“We have our targets which we want to accomplish as a team so they should not come expecting an easy game,” said Chunga yesterday.

“I don’t think it would be difficult for us in this match. We will do what we have been doing in the past few weeks, trying to simplify football. I don’t think that is difficult. We want to finish in a respectable position and it’s still possible,” added Chunga, who will be missing striker Honey Chimutimunzeve and Hastings Chapusha through injuries.

The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw, but with so much at stake this time around, it promises to be a thriller as two of the country’s legends go head-to-head.