The Sunday News
HIGHLANDERS caretaker head coach Mark Mathe comes under the spotlight when he takes charge of the struggling Bulawayo football giants when they square off with Caps United in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the National Sports Stadium in Harare this afternoon.
Mathe has been thrust into the hot seat after coach Kelvin Kaindu decided to relinquish his post following a string of poor results in the second half of the season, the last being a 3-1 humiliation at the hands of ZPC Kariba at Hartsfield Rugby Ground.
The hard-to-please Highlanders fans did not take kindly to that defeat as they threw all sorts of missiles at the players and the technical team at the end of the disastrous league outing.
With six matches to go, Highlanders, who were last crowned Zimbabwean club football champions in 2006, find themselves in fourth place with 39 points, seven points behind champions Dynamos who went into this weekend’s matches on top of the log with 46 points.
Mathe admits that his side has not been playing well and it was about time they corrected their shortcomings which have seen the boys in black and white collect just nine points during the second half of the season while finding the back of the net three times in nine matches, a huge contrast to the first half of the season which saw Bosso hit the target 29 times.
Despite leading Bosso to a 4-0 rout over the Green Machine at the beginning of the season when Kaindu was abroad pursuing his studies, Mathe is anticipating a tough outing against Makepekepe.
“We acknowledge we have not been playing well in the second half of the season, we have been hard at training to correct those mistakes. Caps United are playing well at the moment, we might have beaten them but this is a different ball game altogether so we are expecting a tough game in Harare,’’ said Mathe.
On what goals he has set himself before the end of the season, Mathe believes Highlanders still have a chance of claiming the title but the immediate goal was to get a positive result against Caps United.
Highlanders have to do without the injured trio of defender Webster Chingodza (toe), Kudzanai Machazani (neck) and bustling forward Njabulo Ncube who has an ankle injury.
It is the absence of Chingodza that is sure to be felt as the former Tripple B defender had settled well on the right side of the Highlanders defence which had caused all sorts of problems at the start of the season with midfielders Simon Munawa and Erick Mudzingwa being tried in that position.
It is yet to be seen if Mathe will stick with skipper Ariel Sibanda after he picked up the ball from the nets three times against ZPC Kariba. Munyaradzi Diya and Njabulo Nyoni are the options should Sibanda, who has seen more action in goals for Highlanders this season, is relegated to the bench.
With Chingodza out, Mudzingwa is most likely to shift from the heart of the Bosso defence to right back which paves way for the return for former captain Innocent Mapuranga to partner Dumisani Ndlovu in central defence while Bruce Kangwa is sure to operate on the left side of the backline.
Felix Chindungwe, Pasca Manhanga, Hillary Madzivanyika, Welcome Ndiweni, Knox Mutizwa, Rahman Kutsanzira, Tapiwa Depistara and Munawa present Mathe with all sorts of alternatives in the middle of the park with the coach disclosing that Mthulisi Maphosa, despite his off pitch transgressions, attended all the team’s training sessions which makes him eligible for selection.
Lanky Charles Sibanda, the league’s top goalscorer with 12 goals to his name so far this season is under pressure to find the target as Kudakwashe Musharu of How Mine is just two goals behind. The 2010 Soccer Star of the Year could be paired with Gabriel Nyoni, Ozias Zibande or Simba Sithole as Highlanders look to put behind their poor showing in the second half of the season.
Caps United team manager Luis Maio said despite being thumped 4-0 by Highlanders in May, they were not looking at the match as a revenge mission because all they were concerned about was the three points at stake to keep their championship hopes alive.
“We have prepared for this like any other match, the boys are focused on getting the three points to keep us fighting for the championship,’’ said Maio.
Unlike Highlanders, Caps United have fared better in the second half of the season with four wins from nine matches.
Makepekepe go into the match without the services of Malawian defender George Nyirenda who is suspended after accumulating three yellow cards. Attacking midfielder Pervington Zimunya is also not eligible due to what Maio described as personal issues.
Veteran goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube, skipper Tapiwa Khumbuyani, Moses Muchenje, Ronald Pfumidzai, Tendai Samanja, Dominic Chungwa and Dominic Mukandi are some of the players Mangwiro is going to heavily rely on to deliver against Bosso.
In other fixtures set for this afternoon, Dynamos, still smarting from losing the NetOne sponsored One Wallet Cup final 4-3 on penalties to Triangle last Sunday; head off to Mutare for a date with Buffaloes at Sakubva Stadium. Relegation threatened Shabanie Mine are at home against fellow Midlands side Chapungu while Hwange host How Mine at the Colliery Stadium.
Fixtures
Buffaloes v Dynamos (Sakubva Stadium), Caps United v Highlanders (National Sports Stadium), Shabanie Mine v Chapungu (Maglas Stadium), Hwange v How Mine (Colliery Stadium).
