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Chicken Inn coach Joey Antipas is hoisted in the air by jubilant players and supporters after winning the 2015 Castle Lager Premiership title by beating Harare City 3-1 at Luveve Stadium recently

Senior Sports Reporter
CHICKEN Inn seem to have employed mind games ahead of their Easycall Cup final against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday. The Gamecocks yesterday said the game provides them with a perfect opportunity to lift silverware in front of their fans.

Bosso are no doubt the bigger of the two teams in terms of following in Bulawayo but they struggled for the better part of the season before upping their performance towards the end.

Chicken Inn appear intent on mocking their more illustrious city rivals and their chairman Lifa Ncube said they felt their fans were betrayed when the Castle Lager Premiership trophy was presented to them 435KM away at Larfage Stadium in Harare a fortnight ago.

“Since the final is an all-Bulawayo affair, this will provide us with the opportunity to win and be presented with the trophy in front of our Bulawayo fans,” said Ncube.

He was certain team captain and Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year Danny “Deco” Phiri would lift the Easycall Cup which carries an $80,000 cheque on Sunday and urged their fans to come in numbers to witness the Gamecocks completing an historic league and cup double.

“We were presented with our league trophy in Harare and this provides us a chance to win the Easycall Cup in front of our home fans,” said Ncube.

Chicken Inn won the third edition of the trophy in 2013, ironically stopping a two-year dominance of the cup by Dynamos, a team they also stopped from clinching a record fifth consecutive league title this year.

It was also the same year that Bosso won the richest knockout tournanent in the country then, the Mbada Diamonds Cup, at the expense of another city side How Mine.

The losing finalists on Sunday will pocket $50,000 while the two semi-finalists Caps United and Dynamos will each get $30,000. The losing quarter-finalists will bank $20,000 each.