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Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter

NGEZI Platinum Stars captain Qadr Amini has called on his teammates to put their heads on the wall if they are to avoid another Chibuku Super Cup disappointment. 

The Mhondoro side face FC Platinum in the final of the premium cup tournament at Mandava on Sunday. 

This will be coach Rodwell Dhlakama charges’ second final in the same competition in three years, having lost in controversial circumstances to Highlanders at Barboufields in 2019. 

The tournament was skipped last year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

And Amini wants his team to amend for that painful 0-1 defeat they suffered to Bosso the last time out. 

“Look, this is our second consecutive Chibuku Super Cup final appearance, having lost the last one in 2019 to Highlanders,” said Amini.

“We have that added pressure of trying to avoid a consecutive defeat in the same tournament.

“We are not putting ourselves under too much pressure though. Everyone in the team is fired up and motivated just to be in the final. 

“This is a game everyone wants to be involved in, the magnitude and the weight of it is in its own a great motivation for the players. 

“We lost the last final to Highlanders away and we are also playing away but that should not be an excuse for us. 

“As players, our duty is to execute our mandate to the best of our abilities regardless of where the game would be played. We are a team that knows what the goals are.” 

Amini said the team has been affected much by the distance they have had to travel in the past two weeks. 

“By the time we play FC Platinum at Mandava (on Sunday), we would have completed close to 3 000 kilometres in terms of the distance we have travelled over the past fortnight. It’s a massive stretch by road and fatigue is a factor that obviously affects players. But we are not going to dwell much into that. We know the objectives as a collection of players. We are ready for one of the toughest matches we will be playing for this year. 

“We will put our bodies on the line for the sake of our badge. We need to be counted amongst the best and there is no way we can be counted without playing good football that earns us results. We are an ambitious team and we have to fight.”

Having been in the same knock-out group and stationed at the same venue for pool games, Ngezi Platinum and FC Platinum have already met twice.

The Dhlakama team won the first encounter 2-1 while Norman Mapeza’s lads claimed the second game on the same scoreline. 

Interestingly, the two teams finished their group business tied on 13 points with the Zvishavane side on top due to superior goal difference. 

Both would negotiate their way in different directions in the tournament and they will once again face off at the same arena on Sunday. 

Dhlakama and Mapeza have met four times in the Chibuku Super Cup with the former beating the latter on three occasions while Mapeza has claimed a single victory.