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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THREE Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match day 24 games that were put on hold to pave way for the President’s Inauguration Cup in August will now be played this weekend, while other teams are on a break.

Highlanders and Dynamos played in the President’s Inauguration Cup on August 26, with the latter winning 2-0 at the National Sports Stadium.

Games that were cancelled to pave way for the tournament were those pitting Black Rhinos with Harare City, Highlanders against Shabanie Mine as well as the Harare derby between Dynamos and Caps United.

Kudzai Bare, the PSL communications officer, said the league capitalised on the Fifa break to clear the backlog.

“The rescheduled match day 24 games will be played on the weekend of October 13-14. The normal programme will resume after the Fifa calendar week,” said Bare.

With the Warriors out in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier, local football fans will be treated to the three rescheduled games.

No doubt, the pick of the three encounters is Sunday’s Dynamos and Caps United clash, where the former are fighting for their survival.

DeMbare occupy the last relegation slot, with 31 points from 28 games and time is running out for them to escape from the red zone.

Should they win against Caps United, DeMbare will move four places up the table to 11th.

They will leapfrog Yadah, Bulawayo Chiefs and Nichrut, who are all tied on 32 points from 29 games. They would also dislodge Chapungu, who are on 33 points.

Dynamos are winless in five games and hard-pressed for a victory to appease their restless fans. They last won on September 2, beating Bulawayo City 2-1.

That was followed by a 3-0 thrashing by archrivals Highlanders, a 0-0 draw against Chapungu, a 1-0 loss to Harare City, a 0-0 draw with Bulawayo Chiefs and a 2-0 defeat to champions FC Platinum.

Dynamos will not have it easy against a Caps United side which sits in fifth position with 44 points and has an opportunity to finish the season in the top four.

Caps United will be out to put an end to their three-match winless streak by collecting maximum points so that they close in on fourth-placed Triangle United, who are on 48 points.

While Dynamos and Caps United clash in the capital city blockbuster, Bosso travel to Zvishavane to face bottom side Shabanie Mine.

Bosso, licking wounds from the Chibuku Super Cup exit, are refocusing their energy on finishing the season in the top four.

Despite being at the bottom of the table, Shabanie Mine will not hand Highlanders a victory on a silver platter and will want to go to the First Division after upsetting Bosso.

Highlanders will be wary of Shabanie Mine after losing 1-0 to another First Division bound side Mutare City Rovers a few weeks ago in Rusape.

Bosso have gone five games away from home without scoring and hope to travel to Zvishavane with their scoring boots.

Highlanders last scored away from home on July 22 when they beat Triangle 1-0. They went on to play to a goalless draw against Nichrut in Gweru before losing 1-0 to Mutare City and going down 0-2 to ZPC Kariba, drawing 0-0 against Caps United in Harare and losing 2-0 to Harare City in the Chibuku Super Cup.

Rescheduled Matchday 24 fixtures

Saturday: Black Rhinos v Harare City (National Sports Stadium)

Sunday: Shabanie Mine v Highlanders (Maglas), Dynamos v Caps United (Rufaro)

Results
Saturday: Black Rhinos 3-1 Triangle United, Harare City 0-0 Chicken Inn, FC Platinum 2-0 Dynamos, Bulawayo City 1-0 Ngezi Platinum Stars

Sunday: Caps United 0-0 Highlanders, Chapungu 1-0 Shabanie Mine, Herentals 2-1 Mutare City Rovers, Bulawayo Chiefs 1-1 Nichrut

Monday: Yadah 1-1 ZPC Kariba

Table
P W D L F A GD Pts

FC Platinum 29 20 5 4 47 14 33 65

Ngezi Platinum 29 19 3 7 46 20 26 60

Chicken Inn 29 15 9 5 40 21 19 54

Triangle United 29 15 3 11 37 29 8 48

Caps United 28 11 11 6 30 21 9 44

Highlanders 28 12 7 9 27 20 7 43

Harare City 28 9 14 5 23 20 3 41

Herentals 29 10 11 8 21 22 -1 41

Black Rhinos 28 10 10 8 32 25 7 40

**ZPC Kariba 29 10 11 8 24 24 0 38

Chapungu 29 8 9 12 23 32 -9 33

Nichrut 29 8 8 13 27 32 -5 32

Bulawayo Chiefs 29 7 11 11 24 30 -6 32

Yadah FC 29 7 11 11 28 38 -10 32

Dynamos 28 7 10 11 20 30 -10 31

Mutare City 29 5 7 17 22 46 -24 22

Bulawayo City 29 5 4 20 23 40 -17 19

Shabanie Mine 28 2 12 14 23 51 -28 18
**Three points deducted for use of a suspended player — @ZililoR