BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA AS the Castle Lager Premiership enters a decisive stage, bottom sides WhaWha, Bulawayo City, ZPC Kariba and Harare City are all embroiled in an almighty scrap to stay in the elite league.
With a paltry 15 points after 20 rounds of matches in which they have lost 13 already, winning four and drawing three, Whawha have little grounds for optimism they will upset the odds staked against them in the last 14 matches.
The prison wardens who were walloped 3-1 by Bulawayo City at the weekend, will have to roll up their sleeves and start winning matches if they are to stay in the topflight. Bulawayo City themselves, sitting on second position from the table with 18 points, just three more than WhaWha are also in danger of waving a goodbye placard to the top division. The Bulawayo side though are encouraged by their last two games which saw them collecting maximum points having won away to Manica Diamonds in the previous match.
Rodwell Dhlakama’s ZPC Kariba have been dropping like a stone on a cliff side before his arrival.
But even his arrival has done little to prevent the slide towards relegation. The electricity men managed a goalless draw away to Triangle on Sunday to recover from last week’s defeat to Yadah. They are third from the bottom with only 19 points, one more than Harare City. Although Dhlakama has declared his side is not going down, they look doomed. So are Harare City who are just a rung above them because of a superior goal difference. Taurai Mangwiro knows he has his work cut out as he seeks to pull away from the guillotine.
While Harare football giants Caps United appear to be pulling away from trouble after beating Harare City 2-1, their first win in eight matches before settling for a goalless draw against army side Black Rhinos on Sunday, they are still hovering nervously above the relegation zone — with 21 points – 22 behind leaders FC Platinum. The Green Machine, who endured a frustrating period in the first round of the campaign in which they lost six successive matches and another in the second round against ZPC Kariba, make a tough trip to Ngezi in Mhondoro hoping for maximum points.
Mutare-based Tenax are just a rung below them with 20 points following their shock 1-0 win over title contenders Chicken Inn at Vengere Stadium in Rusape on Sunday.
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