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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

DEFENDING champions FC Platinum have a perfect opportunity to settle their grievances with Herentals and draw closer to the Castle Lager Premiership football title at Mandava tomorrow.

The platinum miners apparently still have fresh memories of the unpleasant treatment they got from the Students in the 1-0 first leg defeat at the National Sports Stadium back in April.

Interestingly, that was the last time that Norman Mapeza’s men suffered defeat before rebounding to a robust 16-match unbeaten run in the league.

Six months down the line, the platinum miners still have not forgotten how the Students treated them unfairly by withdrawing the ball boys for most of the match.

Herentals resorted to the unconventional tactic to frustrate the defending champions after taking a first-half lead.

The Zvishavane miners felt shortchanged by the Students’ conduct which Mapeza then described as “not a good advert for our football”.

Addressing the media ahead of the upcoming duel, Mapeza yesterday said he would not wish to be reminded about that bitter experience.

“Everybody knows what happened when we played Herentals in Harare. I don’t think it’s good for football and I don’t want to talk much about it.

“This is a new game and we are playing at home. What is important for us is to make sure that we maximise our home advantage,” he said yesterday.

Herentals made life difficult for Mapeza’s men when they got an early breakthrough after Brighton Majarira struck in the 25th minute, after capitalising on a howler by FC Platinum goalkeeper Petros Mhari.

Soon after the goal, the home team’s ball boys started employing delaying tactics each time the ball went out of play before abandoning their duties completely in the second half.

Mapeza was not amused.

But his team have since recovered from the disappointment and have gone on an impressive 16-match unbeaten since then.

The FC Platinum coach feels his side have built so much momentum in the quest for a fourth Castle Lager Premiership title, which is now almost guaranteed.

Mapeza was encouraged by the determination shown by his team in their last outing when they overturned a last-minute equaliser by Highlanders with a crucial winner of their own deep in added time, away at Bosso’s Barbourfields fortress.

The performance drew them even closer to the finish line in this year’s championship race, with just five games now left in the campaign.

The platinum miners are sitting pretty at the top of the table after opening a 10-point gap between them and the chasing pack.

They need just six points, or two wins in their last five games, to seal a club record fourth successive league title. And, if they win tomorrow, Mapeza and his men will heap more pressure on nearest rivals Chicken Inn and Dynamos who only get to play their own games on Sunday.

In fact, the title race could be done and dusted as early as this weekend, if the Zvishavane side wins against Herentals and then both Dynamos and Chicken Inn fail to garner maximum points.

Mapeza, however, is not leaving anything to chance, especially in this game against Herentals, who have punched above their weight this season and are fancying a fourth place finish. Twenty points separate these two teams on the log standings, though.

“We are facing a very good team. If you look at their previous results, they have been doing well,” said Mapeza.

“They have been picking maximum points at home and sometimes away from home. So they are a quality side and it’s important for us, like I always say, for us to go there with a positive attitude and the same mentality that we had in our previous matches.

“If you look at our performances against Highlanders, I think we did very well in the first half and there are some areas we need to work on.

“But there were so many positives and if we can carry on those positives into Saturday’s game against Herentals, I am sure chances are high for us to get a positive result,” said Mapeza.