Bulawayo City still hopeful

Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter 

IF Bulawayo City are to go down, they will certainly not do so without a fight.

The municipal side could have been relegated from the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League had they lost to ZPC Kariba on Saturday. However, a 1-0 victory away from home gave City a lifeline. 

Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services-owned Whawha and Tenax have already been relegated and two other teams will join them soon. 

City kept their survival chances alive when they managed to get an important victory against ZPC Kariba. 

Dalubuhle Dlodlo scored the crucial goal which saw Amakhosi record their third consecutive victory. City had before their trip to Kariba also recorded identical 1-0 wins over Bulawayo Chiefs and Dynamos. 

Five points separated ZPC Kariba and Bulawayo City before last weekend’s fixture. 

After the defeat, ZPC Kariba are now just two points ahead of Bulawayo City who need to go above the electricity generators to survive relegation. 

City occupy the last relegation slot which is position 15 while ZPC Kariba who are in 14th position have accumulated 35 points from 32 outings.

All Bulawayo City now need to do is win their remaining two fixtures and pray ZPC Kariba falter. 

“We created a bright opportunity for us to survive in that game. There is a lot of work to be done in the last two games if we are to survive. 

“I am still hopeful we will survive. When you look at the effort that the boys are giving you can tell they do not want to get relegated,” said Bulawayo City coach Farai Tawachera.

“No one in the side is giving up. We are confident we will be in the top flight league next year. At the same time, we do not forget that we have to focus on our last two games and ensure that we survive,” he added. 

ZPC Kariba are headed for Bulawayo to face Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium in their next fixture while Bulawayo City face Harare City who are third from bottom with 29 points. Bosso could do their “little brother” a favour by taking care of Kauya Katuru turu at Emagumeni provided Amakhosi would have also done the job against the Sunshine City Boys a day before at the same venue. 

Harare City are left with a home tie against Bulawayo City and wrap up the season at home to Highlanders. In the first leg, the Sunshine City Boys drew 0-0 against Bulawayo City and lost 1-0 to Bosso.

ZPC Kariba head to Bulawayo to face Highlanders before returning to Nyamhunga for a date with Herentals in their last game. Bulawayo City take on Black Rhinos in their last game. 

City’s first dance in the topflight was in 2016. They survived the relegation axe by a whisker in 2017, finishing 14th and escaping by just a point.

However, luck wasn’t on their side the following year when they were demoted after finishing 16th. They made a quick return to the PSL by winning the Zifa Southern Region Division One League in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic has seen them prolong their status as PSL side. — @innocentskizoe 

Article Source: The Chronicle