HARARE - Former Zimbabwe champions Monomotapa believe they can win the Mbada Diamonds Cup as a befitting finale to a season in which their attacking brand of football won them many admirers.

The 2009 PSL champions head into the Mbada semifinal at Sakubva Stadium against FC Platinum on Saturday, having completed a league double over the Zvishavane side this season.

The Harare side has now turned attention to the country’s richest knockout competition as they aim to end the season on a high.

Monomotapa coach Biggie Zuze said his team’s attractive brand of football deserve at least one silverware from a season which promised so much.

“The focus has since shifted from the league to this weekend’s Cup game,” Zuze told the Daily News yesterday.

“Everyone is looking forward to the Sakubva battle because we want to have at least something to show for the season, we deserve some piece of silverware.”

Monomotapa will be without influential striker Tawanda Nyamandwe, who aggravated his ankle injury on the Rufaro Stadium artificial turf on Sunday in the team’s 2-1 defeat by Dynamos.

The injury compelled the Monoz technical bench to substitute Nyamandwe for an ineffective Makai Kawashu.
“It’s a terrible blow for us, he’s had a good season and we had to make an injury- inspired substitution on Sunday,” Zuze added.

“We just have to move on and find other replacements and as for last Sunday’s game, we did everything possible and wanted the result more than anyone else but that lapse in concentration which saw us conceding a soft goal for the equaliser killed our momentum.”

Meanwhile, FC Platinum coach Tendai Chikuni admitted the miners are underdogs, although he sees that working in their favour.  

“All the pressure will be on them because as underdogs we don’t have anything to lose but everything to gain,” Chikuni told the Daily News yesterday.