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Ray Bande Mutare Bureau
MUTARE City Rovers have reduced the gap between them and log leaders Buffaloes when the municipality owned team prevailed over Melfort 1-0 away from home on the same day that the Mutare soldiers lost away to stubborn Prime Rangers in Eastern Region Division One mid-season round of league matches.

The Eastern Region Division One takes a breather this coming weekend after most teams played 15 matches.

Buffaloes had been four points ahead of Mutare City but their defeat coupled with City Rovers victory ensured the gap is reduced to one point.

Interestingly, City Rovers have a game in hand from their aborted league encounter against Mucheke Pirates, which will now be played during the mid-season break.

ZIFA Eastern Region secretary Simba Wisdom confirmed that the league takes a break this coming weekend and teams with matches in hand will fulfil their fixtures during the breather.

Wisdom said Mutare City Rovers and Mucheke Pirates will now play the remaining 24 minutes of their abandoned league match.

“It is quite an exciting race at the top having witnessed the reduction of the gap for the teams at the top. It is also worth noting that Tenax are dark horses in this race.

“We are breaking this coming weekend where we are going to have an Extra General Meeting. Those teams with games in hand will play this coming weekend that is Renco/Mtoko, Mucheke Pirates/Mutare City will play the remaining 24 minutes and Mukanya Bullets/Tenax will play midweek on August 8. We need to start the second half of the season with all the teams at par in terms of matches played.”

Mutare-based teams Buffaloes, Mutare City Rovers and correctional services outfit Tenax have maintained their lead at the summit of the Eastern Region Division One log standings as hopes for a resident top flight league outfit next season remain high in the eastern border city.

Mugurasave maintained that the race for the championship in the league this season promises fireworks.

“Just like I have said before, I think the race for the championship will be tightly contested this season. Any team among those in the top seven can go all the way. It is still early days yet to say which among those in the top seven can finally make it,” he said. Mutare City Rovers team manager Lyndon Kanyemba said all his team wants is to keep collecting points and ensure that Mutare gets a resident Premiership team.

“We are happy that we have managed to reduce the gap plus a game in hand. We just want to keep collecting maximum points. That is the only way we can fight for Premiership promotion. We are confident that we will give our competitors a good run for their money.

“As Mutare City Rovers, we are mainly focused on bringing back Premiership football to Mutare. We do not care whether it is Buffaloes, Mutare City or Tenax, all we want is that Mutare must have a team of its own in the top flight league,” said Kanyemba.

Mutare was left without a Premiership outfit following the demotion of municipality owned Mutare City Rovers on the final day of the 2016 Castle Lager Premiership season.

During his recent tour of sports facilities in Manicaland, Minister of Sports Makhosini Hlongwane bemoaned the inconsistency of Mutare football teams.

“What we have here is what I would call spasms of brilliance. This year we have Buffaloes in the Premiership, the next year they are out. We have another team, Mutare City Rovers and the following year they are out. We do not need that. We really want Mutare to have a team if not two that stay in the Premiership and give residents here football entertainment,” said Hlongwane.