Joey Antipas
Grace Chingoma Harare Bureau
AFTER sealing their maiden Premiership championship title, Chicken Inn will now fancy their chances of a double when they go into the hat for the Easycall Cup semi-finals against traditional giants Dynamos, Highlanders and Caps United in Harare tomorrow. Veteran coach Joey Antipas and his men were rewarded for their constituency and hard work on Saturday when they powered to a comprehensive 3-1 win over Harare City at Luveve to seal a memorable season.
But the Gamecocks are likely to put the celebrations on hold for a while as they quickly shift their attention to the Easycall Cup which provides them with a chance for a double as they are the only side in the semi-final draw who already have silverware.
The only other side to have won a cup — Chibuku Super Cup holders Harare City — are not in the draw.
Even though the semis will only resume on the weekend of December 5-6, after the conclusion of the Castle Lager Premiership this weekend, it is likely that the focus of these teams has been switched to the Easycall Cup which has a fat cheque of US$80,000 for the winners. The losing finalists will receive US$50,000 while the losing semi-finalists are already assured of a US$30,000 cheque each.
And such an amount after just playing at least two matches and at most three matches is quite a lot considering that the travelling, accommodation and kit expenses are being catered for by the sponsors.
The grand finale has been set for the weekend of December 12 -13. And PSL together with the sponsor will decide on the venues for the semi-final matches as well as the final. The quarter-final matches were staged in Zvishavane, Kariba and Harare as NetOne continues to spread the game countrywide.
This year’s Cup saw the league’s traditional teams avoiding being booted out in the quarter-finals. To book their place in the last four, Chicken Inn edged ZPC Kariba 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw at Nyamhunga. Caps United were the most comprehensive quarter-final winners after thumping Hwange 3-1 at the National Sports Stadium.
Last year’s losing finalists Dynamos who are seeking to avoid a rare trophy-less season overcame How Mine 1-0 at Rufaro to reach the Easycall last four.
Bulawayo giants Highlanders, who have had an indifferent season made sure they can still get something from the league when they stunned FC Platinum at Mandava courtesy of a late strike by striker Knox Mtizwa. And all the remaining teams have already indicated that they are comfortable to face any opponent in the semi-finals.