Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
NGEZI Platinum have switched their focus to the Yadah TV Knock-out Cup when they battle against Mushowani Stars in the final of the inaugural tournament at Gwanzura on Saturday. The platinum miners, in their first year in the tough ZIFA Northern Region Division One league, surpassed expectations when they mounted a strong challenge, in the second half of the season, and turned themselves into one of the teams to beat. Ngezi Platinum edged ZRP FC, in the semi-finals of the Yadah TV Knock-out Cup, with veteran forward, Enasio Perezo, scoring the priceless goal.

The final, the first of its kind for the ZIFA Northern Region Division One league, will be played against a background of a league that is in mourning, in the wake of the stampede in Kwekwe last week, where 11 people were killed.

The ZIFA Northern Region leadership announced on Monday that a minute of silence will be observed, before the Yadah TV Knock-out Cup final, and players from both finalists will wear black armbands on Saturday.

Ngezi Platinum coach, Clifton “Somalia” Kadurira, said his men wanted to win the tournament to make up for their failure to win the league championship.

“We are preparing well for the match and morale is high in the camp and everyone is looking forward to the match,” Kadurira said.

“We haven’t had a break, when the season curtain came down on the league campaign last week, as we are preparing for this big event and we hope to win the game.

“Our team is injury free and everyone is ready for selection and, given that it is a Cup game, we will give it a different approach from the way that we approach the league games.”

Kadurira said they had a lot of respect for their opponents, Mushowani Stars, who finished third in the championship race.

“We don’t underrate Mushowani Stars,” said Kadurira.

“We are not going to base our approach on the fact that we beat them in the league, both at home and away, because this is a different game altogether, a Cup final, and anything can happen.

“I don’t think we have an upper hand because anything can happen in a Cup game and we have to respect them that they are in the final, which means that they played very well to get to this stage of the tournament.” Mushowani Stars were impressive when they beat favourites Gunners in the semi-finals of the tournament. League chairman, Willard Manyengavana, and secretary-general, Sweeney Mushonga, said they were mourning the 11 people who died in the stampede at Mbizo Stadium at a Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Crusade in Kwekwe last Thursday. PHD leader, Prophet Walter Magaya, went into partnership with the ZIFA Northern Region when he announced a $30 000 sponsorship package, through his Yadah TV, to bankroll the league’s eight-team knockout tournament.

“As a league, we are joining our sponsor in this time of mourning, remembering those people who passed away in that tragedy at Mbizo, and that is why we have ordered that a minute of silence be observed before the final, “ Manyengavana said on Monday.

“We have also ordered that the two teams wear black armbands because it’s a sad moment, for our sponsors and also for us, and it is important that we reflect that sadness in the way that we conduct ourselves in a tournament that is sponsored by Yadah TV. “The big game on Saturday is the final of that tournament, which Yadah TV have sponsored, and given the tragic events in Kwekwe, it’s important that, as we bring this tournament to a close, we remember those people who died in that tragedy.”

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