HARARE City coach Bigboy Mawiwi is excited with how competition is turning out in this year’s championship race after the Sunshine Boys, who have had a dream run this season, created a breathing space at the top of the table with a slender victory over Monomotapa at the weekend. City are now three points clear at the summit after rivals Highlanders and Chicken Inn cancelled out each other in the Bulawayo derby that ended in a 1-1 draw at Barbourfields. The stalemate came at a cost for both teams as it allowed defending champions Dynamos to leapfrog them into second place on the log standings, courtesy of the Harare giants’ hard- fought 1-0 win over Buffaloes at Rufaro on Sunday. Unlike in the previous seasons, the competition looks tough with Dynamos, Highlanders and Chicken Inn all tied on 31 points after 17 games while FC Platinum and CAPS United are lurking in the shadows with 29 and 28 points, to complete the top six. Mawiwi said Harare City, who are only in their second season in the top-flight league, are enjoying their fine run and are looking forward to the remainder of the season with high hopes after winning 10, drawing four and losing only four times this year. “I think we have done very well as we have tried as much as we can to collect points consistently. The good thing is that we have no pressure at all unlike some of the big teams and I think that has helped us to stay focused and be where we are today. “In fact, as a club we have not started talking about the championship yet. The aim is to continue playing our normal game although it is everyone’s dream to win the title. “However, it looks like there is going to be a sustained competition this year and in my opinion, the title will go to any of the clubs in the top six of the table,” said Mawiwi. City are slowly turning themselves into a big force and striker William Manondo gave them the second half winner they needed to seize control of the race on Saturday when they beat Monomotapa 1-0 at Rufaro. Dynamos coach Callisto Pasuwa also hailed the competition after his side squeezed into second place with a slender 1-0 victory over stubborn army side Buffaloes at Rufaro. DeMbare were fourth going into the weekend’s games but as things turned out, they were the major beneficiaries of the stalemate at Barbourfields. Pasuwa said he was also enjoying the competition. He said it was a refreshing challenge to have many teams jostling for honours unlike in the past few seasons. Last year it was a two-horse race between Dynamos and Highlanders with the Harare side winning the title on goal difference. DeMbare were also involved in another two- horse race the previous year when they narrowly edged FC Platinum to the championship. “People have been saying we need competition in the league. If you notice well, when we were playing these games, people were only looking at Dynamos but now it’s Harare City, Highlanders, FC Platinum, Chicken inn and other teams as well, which is good for us also. I think it’s good for Zimbabwean football in particular,” said Pasuwa. DeMbare were relieved by their victory on Sunday, thanks to Augustine Mbara’s well- struck effort in the second half after the team, which dominated all afternoon, had wasted numerous scoring opportunities. More crucial for Pasuwa was that they managed to bounce back from the disappointing 1-0 defeat they suffered at How Mine the previous weekend. The DeMbare coach nonetheless maintains they are still in the right track in defence of their title. “So far so good, and we are on track. What we need maybe is to maintain that winning streak,” said Pasuwa. “The next assignments are very important but the bad part is that we have been dropping points. In the past month we lost two games and we are saying to the Dynamos family let’s go out and sort out our problems so that we can start collecting those points,” said Pasuwa. Highlanders managed a point against Chicken Inn as their winless streak stretched to four games but coach Kelvin Kaindu remains hopeful of better days ahead. The Bulawayo giants were close runners-up last season and midfielder Milton Ncube ensured they secured a point after Chicken Inn had taken the lead through Kuda Mahachi on Sunday at Barbourfields. Although they find themselves in this bewilderment, Kaindu yesterday acknowledged the dynamics taking place in this year’s league marathon. “It makes football exciting because most of the teams have improved this year. They are all putting in maximum effort and if you pick a point at this stage it’s very crucial. “When it is like this, it’s important to collect points along the way. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get the win against Chicken Inn but we played well and dominated the game for longer periods. We also created a lot of chances which
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 03:20:06 +0000
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