The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
FC PLATINUM’S storming start to the season comes under scrutiny today as they face a Dynamos side they have failed to beat in the league in Harare since their debut top flight season in 2011.
For all their swagger and eye-catching football, Pure Platinum Play troop into Rufaro knowing that the best they have achieved in their previous five visits to DeMbare is a draw.
FC Platinum lost 0-2 in 2011, fell by the same margin in 2012 , drew 2-2 in 2013 before falling to identical 0-1 margins in 2014 and 2015.
Last year’s fall to Dynamos was the last time Norman Mapeza’s swashbuckling side tasted defeat in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match.
FC Platinum are on a roll: they have gone 26 games without a league defeat.
Mapeza is on the verge of making history by becoming the first coach in modern local football to go for 27 league matches without defeat.
DeMbare, under David “Yogi” Mandigora, went on a similar run between May 27, 2007 and June 5, 2008 before they were stopped in the 27th league game by Monomotapa who, ironically were under Mapeza’s guidance.
The 44-year-old Mapeza will this afternoon have the record to himself if he comes out unscathed in the 11th league clash between Dynamos and Pure Platinum Play.
However, he appreciates that for all the drama in their camp, DeMbare remain a dangerous proposition.
“We are very cautious, this is Dynamos we are talking about and we have to prepare well,” he said. Dynamos remains Dynamos, that’s a brand, one of the strongest in Zimbabwean football. We are coming to Harare to face one of the best teams in the league.”
FC Platinum have generally struggled to pick maximum points in the capital. In the 31 league games they have played in Harare since 2011, they have won only 11. Fourteen have ended in losses while six were draws in a run that translates to a 42 percent success rate in the capital.
Under Mapeza, FC Platinum have played six league matches in the capital, winning only once – a 2-0 at Rufaro on October 11, 2014.
Last season, Pure Platinum lost 0-1 to Caps United, 1-2 against Harare City, 0-1 against Dynamos before they played out a disappointing 1-1 draw against Flame Lily on November 18, when a victory could have boosted their league title chances.
Fixtures (All matches start at 3pm)
Bulawayo City v Chapungu (BF), Border Strikers v Hwange (Maglas), Dynamos v FC Platinum (Rufaro)
