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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE battle for the Central Soccer League title is likely to be decided on the last day of the season when the top two sides Tongogara and TelOne clash.

Tongogara, who are coached by Kelvin Maphosa, look set to return to the topflight after more than a decade in the wilderness of First Division football. The army side is tied on 35 points with second-placed TelOne and top the league table by a superior goal difference.

At the weekend, Tongogara picked up maximum points to cling onto top spot with a 2-0 away victory over FC Platinum Under-19.

Former national team winger Joel Luphahla’s TelOne are breathing heavily on Tongogara’s neck after posting a 4-1 win over second from the bottom side Lasaffre.

Tongogara and TelOne are three points ahead of Luke Jukulile-Petros’ Whawha and Tendai Chikuni’s ZPC Munyati.

Whawha kept their slim title hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over MSU, while ZPC Munyati blew an opportunity to be a joint leader after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to party spoilers Ivan Hoe Mine.

Tongogara’s remaining matches are against Blanket Mine at home, followed by another home tie against Sheasham before finishing the season with a potential title decider against TelOne.

Maphosa said: “What we want are the nine points. We have an advantage in the sense that we play our next two games at home before facing TelOne. We are one of the two remaining teams from Kwekwe alongside ZPC Munyati, who have potential to bring the Premiership to Kwekwe, and we want to win it for Kwekwe.”

TelOne’s remaining games are at home to FC Platinum Under-19 followed by a trip to Blanket Mine before taking on Tongogara.

“This has been a tough race and what is even tricky is that there are no small teams. Anyone can beat anyone, meaning that the remaining games are not easy. If we are to be promoted we have to keep guard and win our games,” said Luphahla.

Results
Sunday: ZPC Munyati 1-0 Vumbachikwe, Black Eagles 0-1 Vumbachikwe, MSU 0-2 Whawha, FC Lasaffre 1-4 TelOne, FC Platinum Under-19 0-2 Tongogara, Sheasham 1-0 Blanket Mine, Ivan Hoe Mine 1-0 ZPC Munyati

CSL remaining fixtures
Week 20: Sheasham v Ivan Hoe Mine, Tongogara v Blanket Mine, TelOne v Platinum Under-19, Whawha v Lesaffre, Vumbachikwe v MSU, ZPC Munyati v Black Eagles

Week 21: Tongogara v Sheasham, Blanket Mine v TelOne, Platinum Under-19 v Whawha, Lesaffre v Vumbachikwe, MSU v ZPC Munyati, Black Eagles v Ivan Hoe Mine

Week 22: TelOne v Tongogara, Whawha v Blanket Mine, Vumbachikwe v Platinum Under-19, ZPC Munyati v Lesaffre, Ivan Hoe Mine v MSU, Sheasham v Black Eagles

Table

P W D L F A GD Pts
Tongogara 19 9 8 2 23 10 13 35
TelOne 19 9 8 2 27 16 11 35
Whawha 19 8 8 3 28 17 11 32
ZPC Munyati 19 9 5 5 24 15 9 32
Sheasham 19 8 7 5 20 13 7 30
Ivan Hoe Mine 19 9 2 8 25 23 2 29
MSU 19 6 8 5 17 13 4 26
FC Platinum 19 7 4 8 23 21 6 25
Vumbachikwe 19 6 4 9 13 30 -7 22
Blanket Mine 19 4 4 11 10 25 -15 16
FC Lasaffre 19 5 1 13 20 39 -19 16
Black Eagles 19 3 4 12 13 31 -18 13