HARARE - Former champions Caps United, who were off to an impressive start of the 2011 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League in March, visited the Bulls kraal to became Motor Actions fifth victim of their attractive title defense campaign last weekend.
The defending champions are the first small team to arise from nowhere and grab the trophy last year. They continue dominating the local competition this year after previous winners Gunners and Monomotapa slipped into oblivion.
Motor Action has managed to maintain the bulk of their experienced players together with head coach, Joey Antipas, who led the team to the Promised Land last year. Having played and won the championship title together last season, the Bulls appear mightier than ever, threatening to steal the show and prove their victory was no fluke in 2010.
We have basically managed to play well as a team and stick to our game plan, boasted Antipas. It is definitely a challenging competition unlike last year because there is more to fight for, so we have to continue working hard. Antipas troops have only lost one, drew one and won the rest of their seven matches played so far in this race.
But their lead is not comfortable. The Mighty Bulls victory against Chicken Inn away from home is crucial in sending the Bulawayo-based side some warning shots. Chicken Inn (16points) and FC Platinum (15) have shown great determination in making premiership experts life miserable this year.
Chicken Inn is only placed in position two on the log due to an inferior goal difference as the Zvishavane based outfit lag behind with a point and a good chance of climbing up the ladder with a good result from their game in hand against Gunners.
Life has just been unfair to former champions of recent years, Monomotapa and Gunners, who have either seen loss or defeat to find themselves on the bottom side of the competition. Monomotapa has tasted victory once, while the best Gunners has done so far this year is a handful of draws.
If team performance from the past seven weeks is anything to judge how all 16 sides are going to perform this weekend, Monomotapa has an inspiring fixture against an equally troubled Gunners as both teams seek a stepping stone to their recovery.
Week 8 Fixtures: Saturday: Gunners FC Vs Monomotapa FC Lafarge Stadium, Chicken Inn FC Vs Motor Action FC Luveve Stadium, Black Mambas FC Vs Hwange FC Morris Depot Stadium, Caps United FC Vs FC Platinum National Sports Stadium, Shooting Stars FC Vs Kiglon FC Gwanzura Stadium, Sunday: Shabanie Mine FC Vs Masvingo FC Maglas Stadium, Zimbabwe Saints Vs Dynamos FC Barboufields Stadium, Blue Ribbon FC Vs Highlanders FC Gwanzura Stadium. Wednesday: FC Platinum Vs Gunners FC Maglas Stadium.
Post published in: Zimbabwe Sports News