Bantu face the dreaded chop

ONE certainty in this Castle Lager Premier League season is that the four bottom clubs will be relegated to Division One football after Match Day 34.

Any team struggling to reach at least the 39-point that supposedly ensures safety faces a tense final few games that are destined to end in tears for some supporters.

And one such club is Bantu Rovers who are possibly 90 minutes away from bidding farewell to top flight football. Defeat to Harare City today will leave Bantu Rovers with only a possible 10 points to play for suggesting that if they manage to collect these points, they will finish the season with 31 points, not enough to ensure another season with the best.

Joining Bantu Rovers in this battle for another dance with the big boys are Tsholotsho, Hwange, Shabanie Mine and perhaps also another four clubs namely Chapungu, Harare City, Yadah and Bulawayo City. Only three points separate 11th placed Chapungu and 14th placed Shabanie making this a very competitive fight for survival.

In his post match interview after losing 1-3 to Shabanie Mine a fortnight ago, Bantu Rovers’ coach Methembe Ndlovu seemed unfazed about his team’s return to the unfashionable First Division.

“I said at the beginning of the year that we will finish where we belong. We are not really thinking about where we are going to end. We are taking each game as it comes and managing the games as they are and not thinking too far ahead. I think the main thing is to try and improve week in week out and I think there are some positives to take away from each game that we play. We will take the next games as they come and not worry about the big picture,” Ndlovu said.

Bantu Rovers might have achieved their goal of developing and giving youngsters a platform to shine.

This means that going into today’s encounter against Harare City, the young lads at Bantu Rovers will be “parading” themselves to their opponents with the hope of attracting scouts.

Some of the youngsters who have been awesome for Bantu Rovers include 21-year-old goalkeeper Wellington Muuya who joined the side from Victoria Falls based First Division side Amagagasi during the midseason transfer window. Muuya has a good height for a goalkeeper, is good at dealing with crosses and his service is great.

The 18-year-old trio of captain Kudzaishe Dzingwe, Shadreck Nyahwa and Nyasha Garayi are some of the players that will use the last games to market themselves. Dzingwe is a right back with Nyahwa playing at central defence while Garayi is a left footed attack minded player who has been turned into a leftback.

For Harare City, they are focused on maximum points.

“We’re not taking the game lightly and everyone is focused on picking maximum points. We’re in a precarious position and we just have to treat each game like a final. We’re going out with a winning mentality and we’ve ruled out complacency,” said Philani Ncube, Harare City’s coach.

Another side with a tricky encounter are Bulawayo City who play host to Ngezi Platinum Stars at Barbourfields Stadium this afternoon.

Ngezi need nothing other than a victory to keep their title hopes alive while Bulawayo City are eyeing maximum points to keep out of the murky relegation waters.

“Our focus is on collecting maximum points and ensuring that we steer clear of relegation waters. It’s a tricky game but we have to fight and give our best against Ngezi,” said Mandla Mpofu, Bulawayo City coach.