Sunday buoyant ahead of playoffs

The former Zimbabwe national team coach is confident of his teams chances and is buoyed by their performance, although they were unlucky to lose to eventual champions Orlando Pirates. At the magnificent Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Chidzambwas Leopards held their own against the Absa Premiership champions but threw away a single-goal lead and possession dominance to lose 3-1 at the sold-out final.
Chidzambwa believes the players did well ahead of the promotional playoff against Vasco da Gama, the Cape Town-based team that finished 15th in the 16-team Absa Premiership. I would rate the teams chances of returning to the Absa Premiership at 80 percent, the Zimbabwean-born coach said in an interview ahead of the two-legged playoff match against Vasco.
The fact that we dominated the league champions for the better part of the match shows we have enough talent to challenge strongly for a return to the Absa Premiership. Leopards stand a good chance of a return to the elite league if they display the same attitude they did against Pirates last Saturday.
Lidhodha Duvha displayed power and passion against the Soweto giants and was the first to settle down in this exhilarating decider played under chilly conditions. They gave Pirates a scare until a lack of experience crept in and the team eventually succumbed to a late Pirates rally.
We played well first half, they came at us in the second half, I think sometimes in football or life we learn from mistakes. We made two silly mistakes and we were punished – thats how football goes, you learn the hard way, Chidzambwa summed up the match.
Leopards were relegated three seasons ago. They face Vasco later this month and if they prevail, will meet either Bay United or Thanda Royal Zulu to decide the team that follows Jomo Cosmos to the Absa Premiership.