The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
NORMAN MAPEZA insists that today’s high profile Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash between his highly fancied FC Platinum side and quick-off-the-blocks Highlanders is just an ordinary game and believes pundits are wrong to install his team as championship favourites.
Both sides won their respective openers last weekend and always come to the party when they clash, making today’s encounter at Barbourfields one to savour.
FC Platinum laboured to a 2-1 victory over Tsholotsho FC at Mandava while Bosso’s expatriate coach Erol Akbay hit the ground running with a confidence boosting 3-0 smacking of Hwange at the Colliery last Sunday.
After coming so close to winning the championship last season, before adding some interesting signings during the pre-season, Mapeza’s FC Platinum are one of the favourites to clinch the 2016 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title.
However, the highly animated Mapeza has dismissed that talk ahead of this afternoon’s much anticipated clash at a venue where FC Platinum have beaten Highlanders only once in the last five seasons.
Pure Platinum Play emerged 2-1 victors at the same venue last season, in what was one of the best games of the 2015 campaign.
“That (win) is water under the bridge, it does not count at all. We are going to Barbourfields to play our normal football and try to get a positive result,” said Mapeza.
“Sunday’s (today) match is like any other game, people are entitled to their own opinion but I will not listen to whatever they are going to say about my team.
“My friend, any team can win the league. Why should the focus be on FC Platinum?” he said.
There is an air of confidence running through the Bosso family and skipper Felix Chindungwe summed up the mood in his camp in an interview with our sister paper, the Chronicle during the week.
“Anything can happen in football, but we’ve told ourselves that there’s no more going back from that Hwange win,” Chindungwe said.
Bosso’s Dutch coach Akbay has demanded that his team wins in style.
“We expected to win but I’m Dutch, I don’t just want to win but I must do so with nice football,” Akbay said soon after the victory in Hwange.
The 2015 Golden Boot winner Knox Mutizwa opened the new season with a brace and is once again expected to wave his magic band this afternoon.
Eyes will also be on workaholic linkman Nqobizitha Masuku who returns to Bulawayo in FC Platinum colours.
Highlanders-FC Platinum head to head
June 8, 2011 – FC Platinum 2-0 Highlanders
August 7, 2011 – Highlanders 1-0 FC Platinum
May 5, 2012 – FC Platinum 1-3 Highlanders
November 14, 2012 – Highlanders 2-1 FC Platinum
May 11, 2013 – FC Platinum 0-0 Highlanders
October 2, 2013 – Highlanders 2-1 FC Platinum
June 8, 2014 – Highlanders 1-1 FC Platinum
August 24, 2014 – FC Platinum 0-1 Highlanders
May 30, 2015 – FC Platinum 2-2 Highlanders
August 20, 2015 – Highlanders 1-2 FC Platinum
Fixtures
Border Strikers v Chicken Inn (Maglas), Ngezi Platinum v Caps United (Baobab), Highlanders v FC Platinum (BF)
