THE Premier Soccer League has set March 11 for the Castle Challenge Cup which will be played between league champions FC Platinum and Chibuku Super Cup holders Bulawayo Chiefs.
The Challenge Cup is the curtain raiser to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season also starting in the same month.
Bulawayo Chiefs said they are looking forward to the clash against FC Platinum.
Defender William Stima, who left FC Platinum to join Chiefs said he was looking forward to the match but added that his colleagues should not feel intimidated.
Stima, who turns 34 next month, was released by FC Platinum in January, having been with the reigning champions since 2016 where he won four league titles with the club.
“The Castle Challenge Cup tie will be just like any other match. What we just need as Bulawayo Chiefs is to have that winning mentality. It will be just like any other game and it is us who are playing it and we must be up for the match. I doubt if it will be a difficult match. No one is coming to play that game with four legs. We just have to work hard as Chiefs. Football is just the same and we just have to play according to the coach’s instruction,” Stima said.
Stima also spoke about his injury.
“I am coping. I am fully recovered now with no pain at all. I got injured at Mandava in a league game which I played to the end. I twisted my knee and felt the intense pain after the game at home. From there, I was not able to play and only featured in the last six games of the season,” he said.
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Stima is under coach Lizwe Sweswe, who was head coach at FC Platinum when the Zvishavane-based outfit lifted the 2019 league title.
The Ninjas have since been joined by another veteran player, Danny Phiri.
The former Warriors’ skipper played his football with Bantu Rovers and Chicken Inn before playing in South Africa and a brief stint in Tanzania but his career was blighted by injuries.
Last year, Chiefs beat FC Platinum 2-0 at Luveve but went on to lose 1-0 at Mandava in the league.
