The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter —
EASTERN Region Division One side, Buffaloes have one hand on the league championship trophy and will now need to beat Tenax by any margin in the last match of the season to pave way for their return to the country’s top-flight league.
On Sunday, Buffaloes will entertain fellow uniformed outfit as well as city rivals, Tenax who will be missing the services of injured, yet exciting right back, Lee ‘Piro Piro’ Musiteyi in a must win encounter that will mark the end of an eventful 2016 Eastern Region Division One season.
As Buffaloes engage Tenax, Yadah Stars will travel to Gutu for yet another tricky encounter in the final round of Eastern Region Division One league fixtures.
The Mutare soldiers did themselves a huge favour when they salvaged a hard fought 2-1 away triumph over Prime Rangers on a day that their nemesis in the race for the title, Yadah Stars settled for a nil-all stalemate with Mutoko Traders.
The results from both matches left Buffaloes perched on the summit of the table with a comfortable five points’ gap between them and second placed Yadah Stars.
Yadah have a game in hand and came into the penultimate round of league matches still awaiting a boardroom decision on the fate of their aborted match against Prime Rangers.
As things stand, even if the Eastern Region administration awards Yadah Stars maximum points from that abandoned tie, as widely expected, the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries-bankrolled team will still trail Buffaloes by two points going into the seasons’ last round of league matches.
Buffaloes’ gaffer, Ndega Matsika, said his team would not put their feet off the pedal by underestimating correctional services side Tenax in their last match of the season.
“We have come a long way to be where we are and we will certainly not put our feet off the pedal by underestimating Tenax. We will play our last match of the season and prepare for it just like we have done in all the other matches before,” said Matsika.
The former Mighty Warriors goalkeepers’ coach praised his troops for fighting hard to reclaim pole position on the log table.
“It was not an easy road. My players did a good job. They remained focused for the greater part of the season. Yes, we had our slip-ups during the course of the season, but we did not lose focus.
“Now that we are on top of the log, we really want to ensure that we finish off what we started in style. Tenax are a good side and being a local derby it is certainly a tricky one,” he said.
