HOMELESS BOYS . . . ZPC Kariba stand on the verge of writing one of the domestic Premiership’s finest tales, if they can find the heart to clear to hurdle erected by champions Dynamos, in the penultimate game of what has been a vintage race for the league title
Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
HOMELESS underdogs ZPC Kariba have defied the odds by thriving in their adopted home in the capital, where they are unbeaten all season, and can now bank on that formidable record to power them to clear the biggest hurdle in their quest to become champions.
Thirty years to the year Black Rhinos, with a team built around Premiership veterans who had played for CAPS United and Dynamos, turned themselves into champions and ended the Glamour Boys’ four-year dominance in the race, ZPC Kariba — using a similar magical formula — stand on the verge of writing an identical fairytale with a matching script.
Rhinos were having their maiden dance in the Premiership, when they won the league title, and ZPC Kariba have a good chance to follow in those golden footsteps, in their first season in the top-flight league, by being crowned champions this season.
Those who believe in the supernatural will point to the fact that back in 1984, DeMbare had won four straight league titles, when Rhinos came on board and ended their dominance while, this year, ZPC Kariba could end the Glamour Boys’ monopoly of the league title, as they chase a fourth straight league crown.
Having appeared to have lost the steam needed to sustain a lengthy battle against Dynamos, when they crashed to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of FC Platinum at Mandava just a few weeks ago, ZRP Kariba bounced back into contention, after winning their last two league games while DeMbare dropped crucial points in their drawn ties against Chapungu and Bantu Rovers.
That opened a window for ZPC Kariba, who now find themselves just a point behind the leaders and with a chance of taking control of the big race, should they beat Dynamos in what should be a blockbuster winner-take-all showdown between the two sides in the penultimate game of the season.
Three years ago, DeMbare found themselves in the position of hunters, as they stalked FC Platinum and in Week 29 they went to Zvishavane, for a tough duel against their rivals, who only needed a draw to virtually secure the title, but the Glamour Boys became the first team to beat the hosts, in their backyard in the Premiership, to turn the race on its head.
Now, DeMbare are the ones being hunted by a relentless ZPC Kariba side that has defied the odds, of not having a home all season as their stadium in the resort town of Kariba is still being renovated, by staging a spirited campaign for the league championship and keeping themselves in the running for the big prize with two games to go.
They have their fate in their hands, too, given that a victory over Dynamos in their next match will virtually win them the championship although the Glamour Boys have the added advantage that they can either end this contest, by winning the big match, or retain their advantage by forcing a draw in that blockbuster showdown.
ZPC Kariba can draw comfort and inspiration, from the fact that they are unbeaten in their backyard all season in the 13 home games they have played in their adopted home, having somehow found a way to turn the capital into their fortress and they have won their last five home games on the bounce, conceding only two goals.
They have played 16 games in the capital, when one adds the away game against Harare City which they won 3-2 at Rufaro last Saturday, and their away games against Dynamos and CAPS United, and they are yet to lose a match.
Their first two matches could not have been any tougher, as they faced CAPS (away) and Dynamos (away) and they picked four points, out of a possible six, drawing against the Green Machine and then edging DeMbare 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Artwell Nyamiwa at the National Sports Stadium.
That gave them a platform to go on a 19-match unbeaten run, to open their season, which was only ended when they were hammered 0-3 by Chapungu at Ascot and their season appeared to implode as they also lost 2-3 to How Mine in Bulawayo before being beaten 0-2 by the resurgent FC Platinum.
But, every time, like true veterans, their battle-hardened troops have found a way to fight their way back into contention and, even away from home, they have been impressive as they beat Highlanders (3-1), Chicken Inn (1-0), Hwange (2-0) and slaughtered Triangle 5-1 in the Lowveld.
Even after they lost playmaker Raphael Manuvire, then their best player, to a horrific season-ending injury in their home match against Chapungu, ZPC Kariba still found a way to win matches, with Pride Tafirenyika taking over the playmaking role with aplomb, and now they just need one big push for them to be champions.
“I don’t think we will be under so much pressure when it comes to playing Dynamos, it’s Dynamos who are under pressure,” their coach, Saul Chaminuka, said yesterday as he tried to, once again, deflect attention and pressure from his men who have been inspired by the likes of Limited Chikafa, Tawanda Nyamandwe, Tawanda “Rambo” Munyanduri, the unheralded Denis Dauda and impressive ‘keeper Tendai Hove.
The Glamour Boys, to their credit, have now gone 17 league matches without losing a game and, having lost a league tie five months ago, they are not the type of team that can be expected to fold simply because they are now facing their biggest rivals for the league championship.
They might have dropped points in their recent games against Chapungu and Bantu Rovers, but they have a tradition of struggling to raise their game, whenever they face the so-called minnows, and then just explode when they face their biggest rivals.
Callisto Pasuwa, who is hoping to become the first coach to win four league titles on the trot in the 52-year history of the country’s top-flight league dating back to 1962, can also look at those two points — picked against Chapungu and Bantu Rovers — as points won because they have put his team a point clear and in a position where they can draw their next match and put themselves in a good position to be champions.
The Glamour Boys, when pushed into a corner, have always been known to react accordingly and this has now set the stage for an explosive Week 29 showdown against ZPC Kariba in a game where the winner, effectively, takes it all.
If ZPC Kariba pull it off, the story of the homeless underdog, supported by everyone in this country save for those in the Dynamos corner, is likely to capture the imagination of the nation in yet another Premiership race that has gone the distance.
But they know that they have never played such a game, against such a team, and at such a stage of the campaign.
Remaining Fixtures
Week 29: Shabanie Mine v Highlanders, Hwange v FC Platinum, CAPS United v Harare City, ZPC Kariba v Dynamos, Bantu Rovers v How Mine, Chicken Inn v Buffaloes, Chiredzi v Triangle, Chapungu v Black Rhinos
Week 30: Dynamos v How Mine, Buffaloes v Hwange, ZPC Kariba v CAPS United, Highlanders v Chapungu, Harare City v Chicken Inn, FC Platinum v Chiredzi, Black Rhinos v Bantu Rovers, Triangle v Shabanie Mine