The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
AFTER being booted out of the Chibuku Super Cup last week by Harare City, Highlanders take their focus back to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League when they meet relegation threatened Shabanie Mine at Maglas Stadium this afternoon.
Highlanders technical manager, Madinda Ndlovu had emphasised that they want to lift the Chibuku Super Cup to give a cheer to their fans and with that up in flames, focus is now on the top four finish in the Premiership.
Perched on the sixth spot on the log, it will be a struggle for Bosso to make it to the top four with tight competition from Chicken Inn, who are third with 54 points, Triangle United on fourth position with 48 points and Caps United (44), who are fifth and a point above Highlanders.
Having started the season brightly, a bout of inconsistency hit Bosso mid-season and they have not won three games in a row, wobbling between wins, losses and draws. Ndlovu, however, said he expected a late surge from his charges as they fight to secure their places in next season’s squad.
He said no one is guaranteed of a place a next year and those who underperform will face the axe as they have to move to another level next year to justify the patience they have been asking for from supporters.
“We will be in an uncompromising mood as we head for the match because players are aware they have to perform to secure their places in the squad. I think all the remaining games will be exciting as players exert more effort to impress us as no one is guaranteed a place for next season. We are going to be more offensive for this game as we seek points to reach our top-four target,” he said.
Ndlovu said all the players were available for duty, with those who had been in the sick bay making their way back to training at this crucial juncture allowing him a wider selection pool to choose from.
Bosso will be banking on the evergreen Denzel Khumalo and Nigel Makumbe to assist them dominate the midfield while strikers, Gabriel Nyoni, Tinashe Sibanda and Newman Sianchali will have to be accurate upfront to ensure they bang in the goals and achieve their target of finishing among the top four teams in the Premiership.
While Shabanie Mine anchor the log, Highlanders’ defence of Tendai Ndlovu, Peter Mudhuwa, McClive Phiri and Mbongeni Ndlovu have to be on the guard and ensure they are not caught by surprise. Shabanie are staring relegation in the face having accumulated only 18 points so far with six games remaining. A season of financial woes have seen the asbestos miners being left in a lurch as they struggled to pay players and lost in-form striker, David Temwanjira mid-season to ZPC Kariba.
Shabanie Mine coach Alexio Sigion has, however, put on a brave face saying they will fight till the end of the season.
“We are at the bottom of the log and like I said long back we do not have control of our destiny but we will continue fighting till the end of the season. Highlanders are a good team and we know we need to be at our very best to have a chance of getting something from the match. In our previous games against the big teams we have often done very well and we want to do just that against Highlanders. If they come here underrating us they will be shocked on the field of play, players are generally up for the challenge in these kind of matches,” Sigion was quoted saying.
Meanwhile, Caps United take on Dynamos in the much anticipated Harare derby. Both sides are coming from victories in the Chibuku Super Cup and an exciting duel is on the cards.
The teams head into the game with contrasting targets as Caps seek to entrench their position among the top sides while Dynamos is hoping to get a lift from the unfamiliar relegation zone that it finds itself in.
DeMbare are fourth from bottom with 31 points and nothing but a victory will ease the apprehension facing the club.
Fixtures
Today:
Shabanie Mine v Highlanders (Maglas)
Dynamos v Caps United (Rufaro)
