Zimpapers Logo

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
IT’S make or break for the four Southern Region Division One Soccer League title chasing teams when they face tricky opponents in today’s midweek fixtures.

Bantu Rovers, Amagagasi, Bulawayo Chiefs and ZPC Hwange are all in Bulawayo this afternoon for their respective games.

Leaders Bantu Rovers are tied on 55 points with Amagagasi, but lead the table because of a superior goal difference. Rovers take on Makomo at Luveve Stadium, while Amagagasi face unpredictable Talen Vision at White City Stadium.

The big match of the day should be the Chiefs versus ZPC Hwange that will be played after the Talen Vision-Amagagasi clash at White City.
Chiefs and ZPC Hwange are tied on 54 points, and should they draw while Rovers and Amagagasi post victories, their title hopes will take a knock.

Ex-Warriors defender Hebert Dick said the team that drops points this afternoon will be left with a mountain to climb in the championship race.

“It’s an exciting race where every point counts. There are no clear favourites and any team which                                                                                                   drops points this weekend will lose grip on the title chase.

“If you lose a match at this stage it becomes difficult to get back your momentum,” said Dick.

“When the four teams went into the Week 26 games, I said they were all tricky and my analysis was right. Victoria Falls Tigers gave Bantu Rovers a torrid time and with pressure mounting on the table toppers, I think if they rush things against Makomo tomorrow, they will struggle and drop some points.”

On the Talen Vision and Amagagasi clash, Dick said: “Talen Vision have been playing well especially at White City. Amagagasi should really be wary of Talen Vision because it is at the same venue where they beat Bantu Rovers and Bulawayo Chiefs a couple of weeks back.

“Talen Vision are a wounded lion coming from the ZPC Hwange away loss and they will want to get back to winning ways to keep their dream of a top eight finish alive.”

Dick also believes the team which loses in the Chiefs-ZPC Hwange game will be eliminated from the race.

“I think the game between Chiefs and ZPC Hwange will be more of a power play. However, they’re both likely to take a cautious approach.

“Whoever scores first will win the game. The loser will effectively be out of the race as it’s difficult to recover if you lose at this stage of the season,” Dick said.

Fixtures

Today: Casmyn v Technosphere (Turk Mine), Bulawayo Chiefs v ZPC Hwange (White City), Black Boots v Indlovu Iyanyathela (Fairbridge), Bantu Rovers v Makomo (Luveve), ZRP Bulawayo Province v Victoria Falls Tigers (Fairbridge, 12PM), ZRP Hwange v Ntabazinduna (cancelled), Hwange Juniors v Bosso 90 (Hwange), Talen Vision v Amagagasi (White City, 12PM)

*All matches start at 3PM unless indicated

Table

P    W    D    L    F    A    GD    Pts

Bantu Rovers    26    17    4    5    45    13    32    55

Amagagasi    26    16    7    3    33    11    22    55

Bulawayo Chiefs    26    16    6    4    40    15    28    54

ZPC Hwange    26    15    9    2    32    12    20    54

ZRP Bulawayo    27    10    10    7    25    19    6    40

Black Boots    26    9    9    8    34    24    10    36

Talen Vision    26    10    5    11    26    32    -6    35

Technosphere    26    8    9    9    17    25    -8    33

Indlovu Iyanyathela    25    8    5    12    19    28    -9    29

Bosso90    26    8    7    11    31    28    3    31

Victoria Falls Tigers    26    8    5    13    19    29    -10    29

Casmyn    26    6    10    10    22    22    0    28

Makomo    26    6    10    10    19    23    -4    28

Ntabazinduna    26    4    13    9    12    30    -18    25

Hwange Juniors    26    3    9    13    13    32    -19    19

ZRP Hwange    26    2    3    21    11    57    -46    9

***Cancelled pending payment of outstanding affiliation fees — @ZililoR.