FC Platinum fight for top four
HAVING ceded their hold to the throne as the kings of domestic football, serial champions FC Platinum face an uphill battle as they host Hwange this afternoon in a quest to land a top four finish.
The platinum miners fell short in their quest to become the first team in Zimbabwe to win five league titles on the bounce after platinum-backed rivals Ngezi Platinum Stars ended their reign last week, when they sealed the championship race with two rounds of play remaining. FC Platinum, on the other hand, had a topsy-turvy campaign and last week’s 1-2 defeat to relegation fighters Yadah Stars, and the goalless home draw against Dynamos in the preceding match, left them outside of the top four and in need of bouncing back to winning ways and end on a more respectable position.
Their coach Norman Mapeza told a prematch press conference that he has been impressing on his players the notion of pulling up their socks and finishing strongly.
He had also hoped that the Premier Soccer League would not schedule fixtures this weekend in respect of the FIFA international break, as Zimbabwe are involved in the World Cup qualifying matches.
“Like anybody else, I thought maybe there were no games this weekend and fortunately we just told everybody to be alert because anything can happen.
“I think it was Monday night when we heard the games were on this weekend. But at the end of the day there is nothing we can do. We can’t change anything, but our main focus is on the Hwange game.
“I spoke to the boys we haven’t getting the desired results in our previous matches but what is important is to finish on a high. That’s what is important for us,”said Mapeza.
The former Warriors coach was also concerned by the ballooning injury bill in his camp ahead of the home game against Hwange this afternoon.
“We have got injuries; we have got suspensions so it’s not going to be easy because we have to tinker around with the team, try to play a system which can suit the guys we have at the moment. The majority of our guys, the defenders, are not there.
“I think we are back in that situation again where when we played Black Rhinos we had to tinker around with the team. Our fans should bear with us because we are in a sort of a crisis in terms of players that are injured and suspended,” said Mapeza.
FC Platinum are currently fifth with 51 points. They are 12 points behind champions Ngezi Platinum Stars, going into the last two games. They had won the previous four league titles with coaches Mapeza and Lizwe Sweswe, who is now at Sheasham, the architects. heir four-peat record equalled giants Dynamos and Highlanders who had previously achieved the feat.