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NewsDay

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Chinyama set for grand return

Sport
FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza will be desperate for new signing Takesure Chinyama to make an immediate impact when the Zvishavane side host high-riding Dynamos at Mandava Stadium tomorrow, looking for nothing less than a win to bring their stuttering league campaign back on track.

FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza will be desperate for new signing Takesure Chinyama to make an immediate impact when the Zvishavane side host high-riding Dynamos at Mandava Stadium tomorrow, looking for nothing less than a win to bring their stuttering league campaign back on track.

BY HENRY MHARA

Norman Mapeza
Norman Mapeza

The match is the big headliner of the midweek fixtures as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League returns following the mid-season break.

Mapeza, desperate to win the league and probably save his job, has settled for tried-and-tested players after a bad run of results which appeared to derail his season.

A return of just 10 points from a possible 21 saw FC Platinum losing the top spot on the league table, dropping to fifth although they are just two points behind surprise leaders Black Rhinos, at the halfway stage of the campaign.

In what many have view as an act of desperation, Mapeza quickly sprung into the market, snapping up veterans Chinyama, Mkhokheli Dube and Ali Sadiki, while Hamadzashe Moyo joined from Division One side Banket Mine. Indications are that they have also brought in Lawrence Mhlanga from Chicken Inn to add to the long of list of players the well-resourced team signed at the start of the season.

It is Chinyama though who will be under the spotlight, as the big striker makes a return to the local scene after a few years in Poland, where he went following his acrimonious departure from Dynamos.

He signed a contract a few weeks ago and watched from the stands as FC Platinum were beaten by Ngezi Platinum before beating Chapungu, as he was waiting for an international clearance.

FC Platinum yesterday said they had since received his papers, just in time for the arrival of Dynamos in Zvishavane, in what promises to be a blockbuster encounter.

While Mapeza’s side has been faltering, it has been smooth sailing for their next opponents who started the season horribly, but have since found their groove, dropping just two points in their last seven matches to climb to third on the log, one point behind Black Rhinos.

Dynamos, though, have two matches in hand.

The Lloyd Mutasa-coached side will be aiming to collect maximum points and hope that Black Rhinos and second-placed Ngezi Platinum cancel each other out when the two sides meet in a top-of-the-log clash the following day, a scenario that would put Dynamos in command of the title race. Matchday 18 fixtures

Tomorrow: Chicken Inn v Bantu Rovers (Luveve, 1300hrs), How Mine v ZPC Kariba (Luveve), Yadah v Harare City (Morris Depot), FC Platinum v Dynamos (Mandava), Caps United v Shabanie Mine (National Sports Stadium), Hwange v Tsholotsho (Colliery).

Thursday: Bulawayo City v Highlanders (Barbourfields), Black Rhinos v Ngezi Platinum (Morris Depot), Triangle v Chapungu (Gibbo)

Matchday 19

Saturday: Bantu Rovers v FC Platinum (Luveve), Tsholotsho v How Mine (Dulivhadzimo), ZPC Kariba v Yadah (Nyamhunga), Harare City v Caps United (National Sports Stadium)

Sunday: Shabanie v Highlanders (Maglas), Dynamos v Triangle (National Sports Stadium), Chicken Inn v Bulawayo City (Luveve), Chapungu v Black Rhinos (Ascot), Ngezi Platinum v Hwange (Baobab)