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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
HOW Mine FC are looking at piling misery on bruised neighbours Highlanders who they face in the weekend’s Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals.Their fans hope that the two teams will clash in a derby at Hartsfield Stadium for them to watch their teams in cup action at home. In the One Wallet Cup the two teams clashed in Gweru before a paltry crowd.

Fresh from a morale sapping 4-1 defeat in the TM Pick n Pay Challenge Cup to archrivals Dynamos last Saturday, Bosso return to square off with How Mine who won the duo’s last contest.

History favours How Mine who are in their second season in the topflight having won three out of their six meetings between the two.

Only one match has been drawn between the two putting Kelvin Kaindu and his men under immense pressure.

Bosso have struggled against the goldminers registering their first league victory this year after back-to-back defeats last season. They shared spoils in the return leg of their 2014 league game.

Highlanders beat How Mine 3-0 in the Mbada Diamonds Cup final last December but could not repeat the same form in the quarter-finals of the NetOne OneWallet Sup8r Cup played in Gweru where they lost on penalties.

How Mine’s chairman Mlondolozi Nkomo said they are looking forward to progressing to the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup.

“We are more than happy to have been drawn with Highlanders because we always play better against them and maybe we can do the same this weekend. Our games against Highlanders are always tough and tightly contested and hopefully, we will be able to sail through to the next stage,” said Nkomo.

Veteran coach Luke Masomere is expected to plot Highlanders’ downfall. The fact that the nomadic gaffer, now at How Mine, made public that he is using the last games to prepare for next season, his players will want to prove to him that they deserve to be part of his 2015 squad by putting a convincing performance.

How Mine’s leading league scorer with 10 league goals Kuda Musharu seems to have rediscovered his scoring boots, finding the target in their last two Premiership games after a long dry spell.

Musharu is expected to exploit lack of pace in Highlanders’ centrebacks Innocent Mapuranga and Dumisani Ndlovu who had a torrid time dealing with DeMbare’s strikers last weekend in a showing which left many questions asked about the whole defence’s pedigree.

Highlanders are hard-pressed for a victory against How Mine and they seem to believe that they have what it takes to win everything on offer before the season ends.

“The team always competes to the best of its ability and there is all to play for starting with the Chibuku Super Cup, possibly Mbada Diamonds Cup and the league games that we can win,” said Highlanders chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede.

In the other quarter-finals draw FC Platinum take on Caps United with Black Rhinos locking horns with Triangle while relegation bound Chiredzi square off with Harare City.

The team that will progress to the semi-finals will be guaranteed $25,000 in prize money.

Winners of the Chibuku Super Cup will walk away with $75,000 with the losing finalists taking home $50,000 while teams that get knocked out this weekend will bank $20,000 each.

Those that have already been knocked out of the competition are assured of a cool $15,000 apiece.

Meanwhile, the PSL will announce venues for the quarter-finals today having taken into account the issue of broadcasting the games.

Because of work being done at Bulawayo’s stadia – Barbourfields, Luveve and White City as preparations for the December African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Games, all Premiership teams from the City of Kings are using Hartsfield Stadium as their temporary home and it is likely that Highlanders and How Mine will clash in front of their home fans.

Highlanders were away in the first round of the competition against Shabanie Mine who they beat 1-0 at Ascot Stadium in Gweru courtesy of a Pasca Manhanga strike.

Bosso played in Gweru when they were booted out of the OneWallet Sup8r Knockout tournament by How Mine.

Now that Highlanders managed to avoid FC Platinum in the last eight then they might have a possibility of playing their game at Hartsfield Ground, and the platinum miners may be at home at Mandava while one of the south-eastern lowveld sides Chiredzi FC or Triangle have a chance to have their game at either Gibbo Stadium or Chishamiso.