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Zimbabwe: Ngezi Platinum Set Chibuku Cup Record

todayOctober 31, 2024 4

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Ngezi Platinum Stars have mastered the art of skipping hurdles to get to the Chibuku Super Cup finals like no one’s business since their promotion into Zimbabwe’s top-flight football in 2016.

The Mhondoro miners secured a record fifth cup final berth inside just seven seasons when they beat favourites Simba Bhora on penalties in the first of the weekend’s two semi-finals at Baobab on Saturday.

Nezi’s showdown with Simba Bhora had ended 2-2 in regulation time before the match was then decided by the penalties’ lottery.

The 2016 winners will now face defending champions Dynamos at Rufaro on November 30 in a repeat of last year’s final won by the Glamour Boys at Baobab.

It is, however, the manner in which Ngezi have made themselves a permanent feature in the Chibuku Super Cup finals that has captured the imagination of many although they have rarely been successful in winning it.

Ngezi were still in the Northern Region Soccer League when Delta Beverages and the Premier Soccer League thrashed a deal to bring back the country’s biggest knockout competition in 2014.

Two years later Ngezi were eligible to compete in the Chibuku Super Cup and they arrived with a bang, winning the tournament on their first attempt.

The Mhondoro miners have since clipped five appearances in the final, the most by any team.

They joint most successful teams in the tournament Harare City and FC Platinum, who have won two titles each, have appeared in the finals on four and three occasions respectively.

It’s now guaranteed a third team will join the exclusive double company given that Dynamos and Ngezi, who meet in the final both have one Chibuku Super Cup title each in the bag.

However, the Mhondoro side, while finding it relatively easy to navigate to the finals, have always hit a brick wall in the deciding match since winning it in 2016.

They beat FC Platinum 3-0 in the final at Baobab on their elite league bow earned them a ticket to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup in 2017.

But they have always failed to cross that line again in this tournament ever since.

They lost 1-0, albeit in controversial circumstances to Highlanders in 2019 before losing on penalties to FC Platinum in the 2021 edition of the tournament.

And last year, they lost 2-0 to Dynamos.

But the reigning league champions know that this year, the Chibuku Super Cup title will be their only hope to play in Africa again.

This is because they have virtually fallen out of the reckoning for the championship battle that has fizzled into a two-horse race pitting Simba Bhora and second-placed FC Platinum.

Ngezi assistant coach Kumbirai Mutiwekuziva, himself carrying a lot of disappointment after losing the Chibuku final to Bulawayo Chiefs when he was still in charge of Herentals in 2022, deputised for Takesure Chiragwi in Saturday’s semi-final win over Simba Bhora.

He hailed Ngezi for their never-say-die attitude even when Simba Bhora were looking like winning the game, especially after taking the lead in the second half.

“It’s a very good spirit that these boys continue to show. Cup games need character and the determination from these boys is top notch,” Mutiwekuziva said.

“If you look at how we almost lost this game in the second half, you will then start to appreciate how much these boys are huge fighters.

“They never threw in the towel and here we are. Their fighting spirit is big and you can’t ask for more.

“We played against Simba Bhora in one of the most difficult matches we have played in all competitions but how the players carried themselves speaks volumes about them.

“We were very confident that we were going to win. We were thoroughly prepared for them just like when we played CAPS United and beat them on penalties in the quarter-finals,” said Mutiwekuziva.

“It is the final penalty that mostly determines and that’s why you heard the crowd shouting on top of their voices. We will try to correct the mistakes that have happened over the past seasons and be able to do well in the final.

“It is a good opportunity for us to make our way back to the Africa Safari. The league is a bit far from us and we are nearer to losing it.