BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
NEWCOMERS Cranborne Bullets are looking to bag their first set of three points as well as cause their first major upset in the local league when they take on giants Dynamos in Harare at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon.
Bullets had a brilliant run in their first major tournament the Chibuku Super Cup where they reached the semi-finals before losing to Ngezi Platinum Stars.
The Nesbert Saruchera-coached army side kicked off their league campaign with an away defeat to Chicken Inn before playing a goalless draw at home to Bulawayo Chiefs.
Saruchera says his team is eager to play against one of the big teams in Zimbabwe football.
“We have prepared enough for this match and the guys are eager to play against one of the so-called big teams in Zimbabwe football. I am sure it is going to be a good game,” Saruchera told Standardsport.
“We are looking for a positive result so that we can finish the year on a high and also get our first win in this league. We are new to the league and our target is to remain in the league for the next season. We are confident of achieving that target,” he added.
Bullets went into the weekend fixture sitting in 12th position in the 18 team competition while Dynamos who lost their previous encounter by the narrowest of scorelines, 1 – 0 to Triangle, were ninth.
The Glamour Boys who received a massive injection of sponsorship from Sakunda Holdings will be looking to bounce back to winning ways against Cranborne Bullets after two consecutive losses in the league and Cup.
Just like Cranborne Bullets, Dynamos reached the semi-finals of the Chibuku Cup where they were dumped out by eventual champions FC Platinum in extra time.
“We just have to work on our mentality and after such a setback that is when we want to see if our team has character or not. Naturally you need to recover from such a scenario and hopefully we can recover in our next match,” he said.
“We are expecting a huge challenge as always. All the teams that play Dynamos raise their game no matter their stature. Dynamos never plays an easy match, they are all difficult. We are the most popular team in the country and when you do well against Dynamos it means you are going to get much more publicity, so I expect the Cranborne Bullets players to be really at their best. It will not be an easy game but we hope to win,” he said.
The tie is one of the matches that has been cleared to go ahead after other fixtures were ravaged by the high positive Covid-19 results among the league teams.
Former Dynamos defender Lincoln Zvasiya, who is now the mainstay in the Cranborne Bullets lineup, will have an opportunity to avenge the treatment by Harare giants, which led to his unceremonious departure in 2017.
In the other match today, Bulawayo giants Highlanders make the long trip to Mutare to face an inform Manica Diamonds side who boast of a perfect record in the league so far.
The only other team with a 100% record are defending champions FC Platinum, who are inactive this weekend.
This is the last round of matches before the league goes into the Afcon break and is set for a return in February 2022.