BY FORTUNE MBELE
DESPITE returning home winless from a four-team invitational tournament in Malawi, Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas (pictured) says he drew positives from the trip and believes the Gamecocks will be a force to reckon with in the 2019 season beginning at the end of the month.
Chicken Inn begin their campaign with a home tie against ZPC Kariba and then travel to Harare for a game with Yadah.
They have a big home tie in their third match where they face Dynamos in Bulawayo before an away game to Ngezi Platinum Stars, after which they return home for another big clash against champions FC Platinum.
Antipas yesterday said he needs a few more friendly games before the season starts to strike the right chord in terms of combinations after bringing in a number of new players.
Tomorrow they face Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium in a friendly match.
“I believe we will definitely be a force to reckon with this year. We are hoping to do well. We will have more game time in terms of friendlies before the season starts because in Malawi those were our first friendly matches and we played sides which were very competitive. It was a very good pre-season trip and a step in the right direction,” Antipas said.
The 2015 championship winning coach said he was impressed with his team’s performances despite losing to BeForward Wanderers, Nyasa Big Bullets and the draw against Mozambican side Ferroviário de Nampula.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“There were a lot of positives from the trip despite not getting a win. The idea was to get the boys to bond and try new combinations seeing that we brought in a number of new players. We played very good and exciting football. It was good and there were a lot of good individual performances from my players,” Antipas said.
He revealed that new signing Brett Amidu’s injury suffered against Nyasa Big Bullets, where he was taken to hospital, was not a serious one.
Other new players at Chicken Inn include goalkeeper Donovan Bernard, Clive Augusto, Tichaona Chipunza, Valentine Kadonzvo, Panashe Mutasa and Phakamani Dube.
In tomorrow’s match Highlanders fans will also get a chance to see in action their returning striker Prince Dube, goalkeeper Wellington Muuya, Cleopas Kapupurika, Devine Mhirindiri, Mbekezeli Sibanda and Russell Chifura, who have been training with the squad while other seniors were on strike.
Bukhosi Ncube and Charlton Siamalonga have also been training.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
DESPITE returning home winless from a four-team invitational tournament in Malawi, Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas (pictured) says he drew positives from the trip and believes the Gamecocks will be a force to reckon with in the 2019 season beginning at the end of the month.
Chicken Inn begin their campaign with a home tie against ZPC Kariba and then travel to Harare for a game with Yadah.
They have a big home tie in their third match where they face Dynamos in Bulawayo before an away game to Ngezi Platinum Stars, after which they return home for another big clash against champions FC Platinum.
Antipas yesterday said he needs a few more friendly games before the season starts to strike the right chord in terms of combinations after bringing in a number of new players.
Tomorrow they face Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium in a friendly match.
“I believe we will definitely be a force to reckon with this year. We are hoping to do well. We will have more game time in terms of friendlies before the season starts because in Malawi those were our first friendly matches and we played sides which were very competitive. It was a very good pre-season trip and a step in the right direction,” Antipas said.
The 2015 championship winning coach said he was impressed with his team’s performances despite losing to BeForward Wanderers, Nyasa Big Bullets and the draw against Mozambican side Ferroviário de Nampula.
“There were a lot of positives from the trip despite not getting a win. The idea was to get the boys to bond and try new combinations seeing that we brought in a number of new players. We played very good and exciting football. It was good and there were a lot of good individual performances from my players,” Antipas said.
He revealed that new signing Brett Amidu’s injury suffered against Nyasa Big Bullets, where he was taken to hospital, was not a serious one.
Other new players at Chicken Inn include goalkeeper Donovan Bernard, Clive Augusto, Tichaona Chipunza, Valentine Kadonzvo, Panashe Mutasa and Phakamani Dube.
In tomorrow’s match Highlanders fans will also get a chance to see in action their returning striker Prince Dube, goalkeeper Wellington Muuya, Cleopas Kapupurika, Devine Mhirindiri, Mbekezeli Sibanda and Russell Chifura, who have been training with the squad while other seniors were on strike.
Bukhosi Ncube and Charlton Siamalonga have also been training.
