Samanja rallies Harare City

HARARE CITY captain Tendai Samanja has demanded total concentration from his teammates if they are to enter the history books by becoming the first club to win the Chibuku Super Cup twice.

They take on How Mine at Rufaro on Saturday.

The Cup final, whose entry charges have been reduced to $2 for the rest of the ground, is expected to be a battle of wits between two of the top-flight league’s best coaches Philani “Beefy” Ncube of Harare City and his How Mine counterpart Kelvin Kaindu.

And Samanja believes the match will be a tough battle but believes his club will do everything possible to win the Cup they last won in 2015.

“It’s always motivating to be involved in a Cup final. I believe it is every player’s dream to take part in a game of that magnitude. “And it always feels good for our team to be involved in the final. This Cup, being the country’s premier knockout tournament, is special for us and we have to give it our best to try and win it.

“Some of the players here have the requisite experience in this competition and I believe that experience will come in handy in the final.

“We have one of the best teams in the country and that is the reason we are in the final. We should, therefore, try to prove that our progress was no fluke,” he said. Samanja said How Mine were a good team and deserve respect as they could spoil the day for the Sunshine Boys.

“Obviously, How Mine are a strong team whose status in the domestic Premiership continues to grow. No team can afford to relax when playing them.

“This is a Cup final and we should treat our opponents with the respect they deserve. They have come as far as we have, so it simply means they are good enough to win the Cup.

“But we also want to win the trophy. In fact, this is the only opportunity we have to spice up our season in which we are currently fighting against relegation,” he said. Saturday’s final will be Harare City’s third since the re-introduction of the knock-out tournament in 2014.