The relegation axe could fall on local authority bankrolled sides, Bulawayo City and Harare City, should they lose their last Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches and Shabanie Mine and Hwange pick up points.

Harare City slipped deep into the relegation waters from position 14 to 16 after losing 2-0 at Hwange. The coalminers’ victory saw them swapping places with Harare City.

Two points separate Harare City and Hwange, who are a place above the drop zone with 37 points.

A mammoth task is what Harare City are faced with and clearly, their destination is no longer in their hands.

Just like their Harare counterparts, Bulawayo are fourth from the bottom and also not in control of their destiny.

Bulawayo City have 36 points and to survive the chop, they need ZPC Kariba to beat Hwange on the last day of the season.

Hwange might capitalise on ZPC Kariba’s poor form that has seen them going for 10 games without a win, losing six and drawing four. ZPC Kariba last won on August 26 when they beat Harare City 2-1 at home.

ZPC Kariba beat Hwange 1-0 in the first leg played on July 9 at the Colliery Stadium and would want to cap their season with a win to end the winless streak.

Something that might also inspire ZPC Kariba to up their game could be the desire to avoid the long road trip to the Colliery next season.

A draw or loss for Hwange in Kariba and a victory for Bulawayo City, who take on tricky Bantu Rovers on the last day of the season, will save the City of Kings’ side, even if Harare City beats How Mine in Harare.

“It’s unfortunate that we find ourselves at the unfamiliar end of the table where I don’t think we deserve to be. The players played very well against Caps United and it was unfortunate we only picked up a point, which might prove vital in our survival battle. We must win our last game and let the rest take care of itself,” said Mandla Mpofu, the Bulawayo City coach.

If relegated Bantu Rovers’ performances in the last few games is anything to go by, then Bulawayo City are in for a tight ending.

At the weekend, Bantu Rovers gave title-chasing Dynamos a scare, forcing the former champions to dig deep for maximum points in their 3-2 win.

Bulawayo City could still survive if they win by a huge margin against Bantu Rovers and hope Yadah FC, who miraculously escaped the axe when they edged Highlanders 2-1 on Sunday, beat Shabanie at Maglas.

In the reverse fixture, Bantu Rovers held Bulawayo City to a 0-0 draw, while Yadah lost 0-2 to Shabanie at home. Shabanie just need a point to survive relegation going into the last game.

Matchday 33 Results

Saturday: FC Platinum 2-1 Ngezi Platinum, Bantu Rovers 2-3 Dynamos

Sunday: Caps United 0-0 Bulawayo City, Yadah FC 2-1 Highlanders, How Mine 2-3 Shabanie Mine, Chicken Inn 0-0 Chapungu, Hwange 2-0 Harare City, Black Rhinos 1-0 ZPC Kariba, Triangle United 3-0 Tsholotsho FC.

Matchday 34 (weekend of November 25/26)

Bulawayo City v Bantu Rovers, Dynamos v Chicken Inn, Chapungu v FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum Stars v Triangle, Tsholotsho FC v Black Rhinos, ZPC Kariba v Hwange, Harare City v How Mine, Shabanie Mine v Yadah FC, Highlanders v Caps United

Table

                           P     W     D       L      F      A     GD     Pts

FC Platinum     33     19     12     2     38     15     23     69

Dynamos          33     20       7     6     54     26     28     67

Ngezi Plat         33     19       7     7     54     30     24     64

Chicken Inn       33     18      7     8     34     21     13     61

Caps United      33     15     12     6     41     26     15     57

Highlanders       33     13      7     13     34     34     0     46

How Mine          33      13     7     13     30     35     -5     46

Black Rhinos     33      12     9     12     35     30      5     45

Triangle Utd       33     11     11     11     37     36     1     44

Chapungu          33     11     11     11     25     25     0     44

ZPC Kariba        33     11     9     13     28     32     -4     42

Yadah FC           33     10     10   13     31     38     -7     40

Shabanie            33       9     11   12     26     33     -7     39

Hwange              33     10     7     16     29     36     -7     37

Byo City              33     10     6     17     32     44     -12    36

Harare City         33       9      8     16     28     29     -1     35

Tsholotsho         33     4     12     17     19     44     -25    24

Bantu Rovers     33     4     4     25     28     68     -40    16

— @ZililoR