City of football Kings SUPER COMBINATION . . . Harare City chairman, Leslie Gwindi, hugs his coach, Bigboy Mawiwi, at Rufaro on Sunday after the Sunshine Boys moved closer to league championship glory with a 4-0 destruction of Highlanders
SUPER COMBINATION . . . Harare City chairman, Leslie Gwindi, hugs his coach, Bigboy Mawiwi, at Rufaro on Sunday after the Sunshine Boys moved closer to league championship glory with a 4-0 destruction of Highlanders

SUPER COMBINATION . . . Harare City chairman, Leslie Gwindi, hugs his coach, Bigboy Mawiwi, at Rufaro on Sunday after the Sunshine Boys moved closer to league championship glory with a 4-0 destruction of Highlanders

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
AFTER their masterclass at Rufaro on Sunday, Harare City can now see the Promised Land where only champions are allowed to enter and there is a feeling they could be too strong for a CAPS United side with only their pride to play for on Super Sunday.
Bigboy Mawiwi and his men were in devastating fashion as they ripped apart Highlanders, making a mockery of their pressure game against Bosso, and they were full value for their 4-0 demolition of the former champions on a red-letter day for the championship race.
If they can produce a quarter of that superb show against Bosso, they could do enough to beat a CAPS United house deeply divided by the implications of a good result against the Sunshine Boys given the possibility that it opens a window of hope for bitter rivals Dynamos.

The last time the Green Machine were in a similar position, with a victory for them opening the door for DeMbare in the championship was when they faced Motor Action, at the giant stadium, in the penultimate race of the 2010 season.

The game was as good as over, within the first half, as the Mighty Bulls raced to a 4-0 lead and, although CAPS United gave the scoreline a bit of respectability at the end by scoring twice, the damage had already been done and Motor Action were champions.

Mawiwi and his men, though, don’t need any favours from anyone and, if they can reproduce their performance against Bosso, there is a possibility that they will overrun the Green Machine and win their maiden championship title.

City took a two-point advantage at the summit on Sunday and the Sunshine Boys, who were third in the race going into the weekend games, produced a fantastic show and turned things on their head as they took their points tally to 53.

They replaced Bosso at the top in another sharp twist to this year’s exciting championship opera.
Rivals DeMbare stumbled to a 2-2 draw at Chicken Inn to remain second on 51, showing a lot of character to come from 0-2 down, while Highlanders slipped to third, also on 51 points.

Mawiwi’s men need victory in their last game against Makepekepe to land the championship, irrespective of results in matches involving Highlanders and Dynamos.

DeMbare will host relegation fighters Black Mambas while Highlanders will also be at home against Luke Masomere’s Shabanie Mine in their last league ties.

Mawiwi believes his boys will need to have mental strength to see them through in what would be their biggest game of the season.
“We have worked hard. We really want this championship but it’s not going to be easy,” said Mawiwi.

“We will regroup (today) and focus on the next game. We will play our normal game. As I said when we were preparing to play against Highlanders, we don’t fear anyone but we have respect for opponents.

“We also have respect for the next opponents, which is CAPS United. It’s a very tough assignment but all the same we are going to fight to the last minute.”

A win will give them an unassailable 56 points as Dynamos and Highlanders can only reach maximum 54 points if they win their last games.

Mawiwi will have a tough week to keep his charges focused as City have been disappointingly inconsistent. They had gone through a disappointing spell in the last two months, winning only two of their previous eight league games and drawing two.

City at one time led the table until they were toppled by Dynamos when they lost 3-1 to the defending champions in Week 20.
But DeMbare could not stay there for long as they were toppled by Highlanders last week for the second time inside two months.
Amid all the twists and turns, it had appeared that City’s chances had faded away as they struggled to contain the pressure associated with being in the running for the championship.

But they rose to the occasion on the big stage on Sunday with goals from William Manondo, Silas Songani and a brace by Nathan Ziwini.
City played probably their best game this season in that big victory and they could even afford to miss a penalty and still coming out smiling.

This was their second 4-0 win this season, having beaten Motor Action by the same scoreline early in the season.
Mawiwi knew that only a win against Highlanders could keep them in the race and had told his charges about the dangers of losing that match especially coming from a bad run of results in the last two months.

“It was going to be an end of a very tough season especially when we were up there and somehow we had to play six games, all draws,” said Mawiwi.

“It was like we were not playing very well. But we were (playing well) but there was a lot of pressure. We had to pass through that and I think we did well.”

If City win, it will also be a triumph for their hardworking chairman, Leslie Gwindi, who first distinguished himself as a very good leader when he was part of the administrative crew that took Dynamos to the Champions League final in 1998.

A draw for Harare City, which takes them to 54 points, and victories for the chasing pair could mean disaster for Mawiwi and tip odds in favour of Dynamos who have a superior goal difference as calculators will come into play.

Currently City have a goal difference of plus 18 while Dynamos have a difference of plus 19.
Highlanders have a goal difference of plus 16 and may need a good victory margin against Shabanie Mine to enhance their chances if the other two teams also end on 54 points.

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