NGEZI Platinum Stars coach Takesure Chiragwi says he is relishing the pressure of chasing both the Chibuku Super Cup and league championship after his side booked a ticket into the last four of the country’s premier knockout competition over the weekend.
The platinum miners dumped former Cup Kings Caps United 4-3 on penalties after the two teams played a 1-all draw at Baobab Stadium.
In the league race, Ngezi Platinum Stars trail log leaders Simba Bhora by 12 points, but have two games in hand.
Today, Chiragwi’s men are away to Bulawayo Chiefs.
The target for Chiragwi is to return to the African Safari either by winning the Chibuku Super Cup or defending the league title they won last year.
But it comes with the pressure of a fixture congestion.
“That is the reason why we play football, we have to get used to that. I think the Chibuku Cup gives us the closest ticket to return to the Africa Safari,” he said after the win over Caps United.
“If we manage to win the Chibuku Cup, we would have done ourselves a great favour. And mathematically, we are still in the league title race and we need give it our best and then we see how it will end.
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“So we are not going to give up. We are still going to work hard so that we collect as much maximum points as we can.”
Added Chiragwi: “What is important is how we manage our team in terms of recovery. I think we have enough ammunition because as you saw today [Saturday], a number of players such as Leslie Kashitigu, Tinotenda Murasiranwa, Tapiwa Mandinyenya, Elson Mweha and Nelson Chadya didn’t play. Captain Qadr came in in the second half.
“We have to create the balance because we know we are going to travel to Bulawayo Chiefs and come back and play again on Saturday. We have to make sure our recovery is the best so that we can have the results that we want.”
The Mhondoro-Ngezi-based side competed in the Caf Champions’ League this year, but were knocked out in the first preliminary round by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s AS Maniema Union.
Ngezi Platinum Stars have a better chance of winning the Chibuku Super Cup as compared to the league after reaching the last four of the cup competition.
Last year, Ngezi Platinum reached the final, where they lost 2-0 to Dynamos, who went to represent the country in the Caf Confederation Cup.
