Gird Up Your Loins Gamecocks!




By Perkins Bare  
It was just a couple of weeks ago, 13th of Feb to be exact when an underrated Chicken Inn stunned Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 to end their 19 match unbeaten-run in all competitions. This Saturday they face them in the second leg and they`d have to just be as aggressive with the highly fancied side. The Gamecocks left for SA yesterday where they are set to play Mamelodi Sundowns in the second leg of their CAF Champions League encounter in which they hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg. Gamecocks coach Joey Antipas relented that the job was only half done and they would need to employ a cautious approach going into the second leg.
One thing that sticks out from this encounter is that it’s going to be a night kick-off which is virtually alien to our league as a whole. The match is kicking off at 8:30pm and Joey had already incited that they were going to leave early for SA to ensure that they would get a few night training sessions and also get a feel of the Lucas Moripe stadium. The Gamecocks then went a step further by trying to mobilize the same at Barbourfields stadium but it proved too costly.
An official from the Gamecocks Tavengwa Hari, confirmed the development at their departure “It was not possible to train under floodlights here because the deposit we were asked to pay for an hour was too exorbitant,” he said in an interview with a local daily. “It was almost about $4 000 for an hour at Barbourfields and we could not part with that much money. That is why the team is leaving early for South Africa because the rates that we were promised there were very low.”
He also went on to add that they might have just got a lifeline as several universities had approached them with the offer to train for free at their facilities.
Onto the real issue at hand, the game itself, Chicken Inn are looking forward to sitting back to try and soak up all the pressure for if one thing is clear is that Sundowns is going to go all guns out in search of an early goal to try and cancel out the Gamecocks lead.
Moses Jackson and Devine Lunga are expected to keep thing tight at the back and Moses Jackson clearly showed that he`s up for the task in the first leg. Tafadzwa Kutinyu and their captain Danny Phiri will certainly be holding bay out in the mid whilst out in the front Michelle Katsvairo, who scored the goal in the opening leg and Moses Demera are expected to get a start.
Speaking in an interview with a local daily, their coach Joey Antipas also incited that they were going to try and catch Sundowns on the break as well. “With a bit of luck, if we can get a goal, it will put under pressure, because, as you know, in an away tie, one goal counts for double,” he said in that interview.  “We are, however, not going to just go out there and attack Sundowns, but we have to come up with a game plan that will suit us, a game plan that will work for us” he added.
The last thing that the Gamecocks would want is to get hit for a quick double and then have to spend most parts of the game chasing the match. But even if Sundowns are to get that quick double which would guarantee them a place, an away goal for the Gamecocks will surely change the complexion of the game itself. Chicken Inn does hold a valuable lead going into this encounter and if they can just play as well as they did out at BF then they `ll certainly be fine.
Speaking on Sundowns` attacking trio branded CBD that is Castro, Billiat and Dolly Joey still maintained that all they needed was to remain calm as they beat them out at Barboufileds and therefore they could do it just again. Billiat however missed the first leg as he reportedly got injured during the warm up. The Gamecocks also have a couple of players returning for the second leg and the team that progresses is set to play AC Leopards of Congo in the 1st Round of the CAF Champions league.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Elvis Chipezeze, Pride Zendera
Defenders: Passmore Bernard, Lawrence Mhlanga, Devine Lunga, Moses Jackson, Ben Nyahunzvi
Midfielder: Danny Phiri, Tafadzwa Kutinyu, Clemence Matawu, Thabani Goredema, Brian Juru, Physwell Madhazi, George Majika, Edmore Chirambadare
Strikers: Obadiah Tarumbwa, Michelle Katsvairo, Moses Demera
feedback@perkinstinobare.blogspot.com

   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scott Vincent to Tee-Off with The Masters Champion

Image
Zimbabwe’s top ranked amateur golfer Scott Vincent is set to tee off with the recently crowned Masters champion Jordan Spieth who was crowned at Augustus this past weekend. the two are set to go head to head this upcoming weekend as they battle it out in the RBC Heritage Classic on April 16-20 at the Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Plantation in Hilton Head, South Carolina. This will be a chance for Scott Vincent to turn pro and speaking on the tourney in an interview the humble Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University senior was quick to rubbish any expectations as he dismissed anything big saying that to him this was an opportunity to learn from the best. "Don't set expectations too high and just soak every bit of what there is to soak in on the PGA Tour." Speaking on his chances in the tournament he went on to add, "I'm just here to learn," he said. "Hopefully I'll be back in a few years' time." Vincent was quick
Read more

ZC Heartbreak Can it Get Any Worse?

Image
Perkins-Tino Bare “I played too much cricket in my life to fall back now on ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ so, like the players, I will accept that we were not good enough. One win in six matches is immense disappointment. The future might be bleak, with qualification almost certainly required for the next ICC Cricket World Cup, and ZC facing a battle to attract fixtures in the short and medium term, either home or away, the players will need to embrace the fact that their futures lie in their hands” , Alastair Campbell told standard sport. So as our boys left the center stage back into the dark, gloomy background of ZC to most it was more of the same, `so close yet so far` but this time it was different the guys represented us quite well during the course of the whole tournament despite leaving with just one victory and one would be tempted to agree that if Dav Whatmore is to get more time with the team he is to build he should therefore build a formidable side indeed. This t
Read more

Third-Time Luck for the Cheetahs?

Image
Perkins-Tino Bare The Zimbabwe sevens` rugby team the Cheetahs got their battle this morning to a flying satart as they beat Guyana 36-0, as they seek that much coveted HSBC core statusover this weekend in Hong Kong as they play in the Qualifiers which would determine the core member status of the winner of the round of fixtures. The Cheetahs who could have not asked for better preparations as they got the chance to train with the World`s best in the South African Side the Blitzebokke at their world-class University of Stellenbosch training facilities om South Africa go into this series with their heads held high as is left to do on the pitch as this time the administrators have outdone their part and its now left to the players to prove their worth. The Cheetahs kicked off their campaign in what would be their third attempt with an assignment bytharshing Guyan 36-0 and they will take on Tonga two hours later which would wrap up their encounters for the day. The encou
Read more