HARARE City and Ngezi Platinum have reacted angrily to the Premier Soccer League’s (PSL) decision to schedule the two teams’ Chibuku Super Cup semi-final matches set for this weekend at Mandava and Barbourfields stadiums, respectively.
BY HENRY MHARA
The PSL yesterday released the fixture schedule for the last four, where City and Ngezi Platinum will host FC Platinum and Highlanders at Mandava and Barbourfields on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
FC Platinum and Highlanders will effectively be away at their own home grounds.
City and Ngezi were drawn to play at home during the competition’s draw, conducted in the capital recently.
Harare City coach, Moses “Bambo” Chunga said: “If I say I feel at home, I should be at home with the supporters behind me. I can’t say I’m at home when the whole stadium is against me. They are just coddling us, but the truth of the matter is we are not at home, we are away,” he said.
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“But do we have a choice? The administrators have done their job and, as coaches, we will have to do ours of preparing the team for all the circumstances.”
Saturday’s match will be the second time the two teams are facing each other in a space of three weeks after they met in a league match a fortnight ago, with Chunga’s team prevailing 2-1, a result that put a dent on FC Platinum’s chances of winning the league title.
The Norman Mapeza-coached side, who were top of the log then, have plummeted to third, following their 1-1 draw with Ngezi at the weekend.
“It’s going to be a tough match, especially after we beat them in the league to derail their chances of winning the title. They are now looking at this cup as their only realistic chance of winning silverware this season. If they lose, it’s most likely that they will finish the season empty-handed. It’s going to be a big match for us and them,” Chunga said.
Ngezi Platinum coach, Tonderai Ndiraya was equally shocked by the PSL’s decision to have his team travel to Bulawayo for their “home” match.
“We don’t know the criteria that they use to choose the venues, but something doesn’t sound right to me. We can’t be at home to Highlanders at Barbourfields. Playing Highlanders at Barbourfields is clearly an advantage to them,” he said.
“They should come clean to say, you are playing away at Highlanders. That is the right way of putting it. A neutral venue for all participating teams would have been fairer. But there is nothing we can do about it. We have to accept the situation and prepare as much as we can for a good result. We will go there and do our best and silence their supporters.”
The two teams also have a history after their reverse league meeting was stopped for five minutes, with Ngezi Platinum players protesting a late penalty awarded to Highlanders. The penalty was converted to give Bosso a 2-1 victory.
“It still lingers in our minds, and it’s a cause for concern. Let’s hope we will get fair treatment. We don’t mind losing matches fairly. Teams, especially the big ones, should win fairly. They don’t need to be aided by dubious decisions. Hoping they (PSL) won’t pick a home-based referee for the match,” Ndiraya said.
Ngezi have since been summoned to appear before the PSL disciplinary committee on October 25 for their troubles.