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Grace Chingoma Sports Reporter
HARARE City coach Philani “Beefy” Ncube believes the Sunshine Boys have control of their destiny in the Premiership as they simply need to win their relegation battle against Hwange at the Colliery tomorrow. The Sunshine Boys, who have been experienced a dip in form in the league, have left it until very late and the mentor says they have to punch above their weight by beating Chipangano in their backyard.

The Colliery has always been a difficult venue for most clubs even without the relegation pressure involved. “We have no choice. We have to get three points otherwise there is no other way out. We know the Colliery can be intimidating but we have to take the bull by its horns,” said Ncube.

As they seek to navigate the relegation waters, the Chibuku Super Cup champions should win both the weekend’s match and the last match of the season against How Mine at home at the same time hoping other rivals also falter along the way.

Harare City are joint tied on 35 points with Bulawayo City, while Hwange are below them with 34 points. Shabanie Mine are one place above with 36 points. Yadah Stars have 37 points and will virtually survive relegation with a victory against Highlanders tomorrow. Ncube said they want to do the job for themselves.

“We are not concerned about what will be happening to the other teams in our predicament. We want to do our part and ourselves a huge favour of surviving relegation by winning our remaining two games. It is no longer about the coach or the players but collective working environment from everyone involved,” he said.

The Sunshine Boys goalkeeper Tatenda Munditi, who was set to undergo a late fitness test, is likely to bounce back in this game. The team will be without speedy forward Martin Vengesayi who has been sidelined after accumulating three yellow cards. While Harare City are plotting their survival strategy, fellow relegation candidates Shabanie Mine believe that in reality they are out of the relegation zone.

“Mathematically, we are still not in a good position but practically we are out of relegation. We still need to go to Bulawayo and concentrate on the game and collect points. We don’t want to be under a lot of pressure when we play our last game. After picking up points against Hwange we are confident of collecting maximum points again,” said Chiragwi. The former CAPS United player said he doesn’t know which two other teams will join Tsholotsho and Bantu Rovers who have already been relegated.

Fixtures
Today: FC Platinum v Ngezi Platinum (Mandava), Bantu Rovers v Dynamos (Barbourfields).

Sunday: How Mine v Shabanie Mine (Luveve, 1pm), Chicken Inn v Chapungu (Luveve, 3pm), CAPS United v Bulawayo City (National Sports Stadium), Yadah v Highlanders (Rufaro), Hwange v Harare City (Colliery), Black Rhinos v ZPC Kariba (Morris Depot), Triangle v Tsholotsho (Gibbo).