SIMBA Bhora head coach Arthur Tutani is anticipating an entertaining encounter when his recently promoted side meets Golden Eagles in a potentially explosive Axis Solutions Super 8 final at Rufaro Stadium in Harare on Saturday
The Shamva-based side will be seeking to finish the season on a high by claiming a league and cup double after recently winning the much-coveted ticket to the Premier Soccer League by winning the Northern Region Soccer League title.
However, Tutani is well aware that it will not be an easy task against the Gilbert Mushangazhike-coached Eagles outfit which will be seeking to salvage some lost pride after losing out on promotion to their opponents.
Golden Eagles and Simba Bhora were involved in a nail-bitting race for promotion to the Premier Soccer League which went down to the wire.
The two sides played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in their last league game in Harare back in August while Simba Bhora won 3-0 in the first meeting between the two sides on the opening week of the Northern Region Soccer League.
“I believe it’s going to be a very good game, a cracker if I must say which will obviously be good for the fans who will watch the match,” Tutani said in an interview with NewsDay yesterday.
“When we played against them earlier this season it was our first game of the campaign and we won 3-1 in Shamva and when we met them in the reverse fixture in Harare a couple of months ago at Ellis Robins we drew 1-1. It was a very good game which I enjoyed a lot. The transition from attack to defending and vice versa was remarkable, so this sets up what should be a very entertaining game on Saturday."
The veteran former Mwana Africa head coach said his side will dedicate their success in the competition to the late midfielder Barnabas Mushunje, who passed away in a car crash in June.
“When we played our first two matches in the Axis Solutions Super 8 Cup, Barnabas Mushunje was on song and he won two Man of the Match accolades and scoring good goals from set pieces. So, if we went on to win the final we would want to dedicate it to him because he played an important role to get us to the final,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to attract more football fans to the decider, the Northern Region Soccer League leadership has roped in musicians to provide entertainment on the day.
Dendera music singer Sulumani “Sulu” Chimbetu, Jiti crooner Baba Harare, Zimdancehall chanters Ras Caleb and Ndunge Yute, as well as producers Fantan and Levels, will perform at the event.
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