Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Fixtures Released

By Perkins-Tino Bare

The PSL this week released the fixtures for the upcoming 2016 league programme which is set to kick off the first week of April. The fixtures will see the champions Chicken Inn starting their title defense against Dynamos at home in Bublawayo. The much awaited battle of Zimbabwe pitting Dynamos against Highlanders is set for matchday 8 whilst the Harare Derby of the former against Caps United is set for matchday 4.

There was an growing sense of anxiety as fans wanted information as to when the PSL was going to release the fixtures for the upcoming league season. The PSL had specified that the league was going to start late after deliberations with Zifa which saw March being congested as the Warriors are going top face Swaziland in back to back encounters over Easter in their Afcon Qualifiers. Apart from that there is also the ZNA Charity Shield which is still in its semi-finals and still needs to be wrapped up before the league commences. Clubs like Harare City who also have Caf commitments also made the March null for the kick-off as they would have had to play at least three matches to catch up and that would have been exhausting for them.

Apart from the Gamecocks match against Dynamos, the other matches to look forward to on opening day is Hwange who are set to host Highlanders at home. This is going to be a good match for the new Bosso coach Elroy Akbay whilst FC Platinum have a tricky encounter against a team that underlined themselves as the stubborn boys, Tsholotsho.

New boys Bulawayo City get to kick start their campaign against How Mine whilst Border Strikers will kick start their campaign with a long trip to Vengere stadium out in Kariba. Bulawayo City will have to wait until matchday 10 to face their counterparts Harare City in what should be a match of the two town councils. Border Strikers looks to have the hardest opening matches as they are set to play ZPC Kariba on the opening matchday before facing the defending champions Chicken Inn then Triangle FC.

The Gamecocks have a rather fair opening 10 matches as they only play Dynamos FC Platinum and Caps United in terms of the big teams. Caps United shouldn`t even be a problem for the gamecocks as they have not yet gotten back up ever since they fell by the wayside. They also have to wait until matchday 10 for what is supposed to be the Bulawayo derby against Highlanders of which by then both teams should have found their strides which makes it a feisty encounter.

The influx of Bulawayo teams into the league which sees a total of 4 teams from Bulawayo also means the fans will have to choose their favourite Bulawayo derby. This is most likely going to be between Bosso`s matches against the Gamecocks or How Mine. This also sees Highlanders having to play most of their matches at home out at Barbourfields. Bulawayo City is also expected to use it as their home with them having ownership to the stadium through the Bulawayo City council. Chicken Inn and How Mine are however expected to share Luveve stadium as they have done and this will mean less travel for the Bulawayo teams as 25% of their matches will be payed in Bulawayo which should be an interesting development for the football fans out in Bulawayo.

Dynamos` fixtures are set to be a bit tricky from matchday 4 as they are set to Play Caps United, Hwange before they take on Norman Mapeza`s side FC Platinum. This is set to be the first tough round of fixtures for Dynamos as a fortnight later they will then play their rivals Highlanders at home.

The return fixtures do not look bright for Bosso as after facing Caps United in back to back encounters, they are set to make the long trip to Mutare before facing Triangle FC , the Gamecocks, ZPC Kariba and then another Bulawayo derby against How Mine. This then sees Bosso with no easy encounters up to matchday 22 when they get to play Border Strikers. This period is set to be vital in deciding the position on which Bosso is going to end their season on.

The Gamecocks go into this campaign as the ultimate favourites with a golden state feel to it after having bolstered their squad with Nqhobizitha Masuku joining them from Highlanders. Dynamos and Highlanders go into the season with their new foreign coaches Paulo Silva who smashed the female journalist and Elroy Akbay. Dembare`s squad looks okay but Bosso lost most of the players they had last season and its not yet quite clear if the newboys promoted form the junior ranks will be able to fill in that void.

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