The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Sports Correspondent
THREE games, two losses, one draw, zero goals for, and three goals against, one point garnered, and today, ‘Amahlolanyama’ are at Barbourfields Stadium for match day four of the Castle Premier Soccer League!
This is the sum total of Mandla ‘Khakhi’ Mpofu’s season so far. And the Highlanders faithfuls are not amused as they welcome Gweru side Whawha this afternoon!
But to be fair to the Highlanders’ guvnor, it has not all been dark days for him and his lads. All will agree that they have played some beautiful football at times but seem to have forgotten which way the goal is!
Mpofu feels his players must shoulder part of the blame for the failure to garner points for the giants.
“We have done our part as the technical team to make sure that we sharpen the team and make sure that they go onto the field every match day to get results. I feel it’s high time these boys also take responsibility for the failure to bring results. We always go there and do everything in our power to make sure that we win games. We are all here to win. Of course, this is football, sometimes you don’t win, but we want to win and make Highlanders fans happy.”
His sentiments were echoed by vice-captain Peter Muduhwa, who said there was a need for a drastic improvement.
“Highlanders is a big club and we need to pull up our socks. It’s not about the strikers, but it’s about us as a team failing to produce results. When we lose, we lose as a team. It’s not the strikers that lose. We have to improve as a team, starting with the next game.”
But all this amounts to very little to the Bosso multitudes. Nothing short of victory against lowly Whawha will appease them. During the transfer window, Mpofu signed Rahman Kutsanzira and Stanley Ngala from FC Platinum along with young goalkeeper Raphael Pitisi from TelOne.
Ngala and returnee Kutsanzira will be expected to make an immediate impact and rescue their new paymaster from their malaise. Goals and points have eluded the side and while tactically they have looked sharp, it is in front of goal that the side needs to up its game. No goals in 270 minutes of football is arguably one of the worst ever returns for Highlanders in recent history.
Goals have become the club’s Achilles’ heel and Mpofu is under pressure to see this aspect of his players’ game improve.
His opponents this afternoon have fared marginally better than their hosts with three matches played, two draws, one defeat, five goals scored and nine conceded. What must scare Bosso about Whawha is that in three games, they have shown a hunger for goal that is missing for the home side. Whawha have shown that they can score goals while it is clear as day that Highlanders cannot. For now, anyway!
Whawha are three places above Highlanders on the table in 13th place. Although relegation dogfights and championship runs are far from being topical, happenstance that Highlanders lose this afternoon, the coach’s survival may very well be this week’s most discussed subject in the ‘sport sphere’.
Elsewhere, table toppers, Manica Diamonds are away to Herentals at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon.
The Eastern Highlanders are the only side in the league to have collected maximum points so far and are sitting pretty, two points above Ngezi Platinum Stars who travel to face troubled Caps United at the same venue tomorrow.
Army side, Cranborne Bullets are home to ZPC Kariba at Baobab while Tenax welcome Bulawayo City to Sakubva Stadium in Mutare. Philani ‘Beefy’ Ncube will be hoping for a change in fortunes having so far picked up a solitary point from the first three games. With predominantly a young side, Ncube has managed to get them to play an attractive flowing type of football, but now results are needed to back up these performances.
Triangle are hoping to continue their solid start to the league race when they host Harare City at Gibbo Stadium also this afternoon.
The Triangle-Harare City match will be an intriguing battle with the hosts former head coach, Taurai Mangwiro now in charge of Harare City. And while Mangwiro has struggled to assert his style at his new club, drawing two and losing one of the first three matches, his former charges have collected six points from a possible nine.
Fixtures
Today: Highlanders v Whawha (BF), Herentals v Manica Diamonds (NSS), Cranborne Bullets v ZPC Kariba (Baobab),Tenax v Byo City (Sakubva), Triangle v Harare City (Gibbo). Tomorrow: Caps United v Ngezi Platinum (NSS)
– @RealSimbaJemwa
