The Sunday News
Simba Jemwa, Sports Correspondent
MANDLA Mpofu and his lads have all to do when they take on Correctional Services side, Tenax at Sakubva Stadium in the Eastern Highlands town of Mutare this afternoon.
Highlanders have been blowing hot and cold and with five rounds of the Castle Premier Soccer League done and dusted, they have only managed four points out of a possible 15.
This meagre return for the Bulawayo giants is a result of one win (2-0 at home to Whawha a couple of weeks ago) and one draw (a goalless affair at home to Ngezi in November).
Highlanders have generally been playing good, entertaining football, but have been unable to convert possession and quality into goals, a scenario that was evident when they lost 0-1 to city rivals, Bulawayo City last Sunday.
“Good performances” and “entertaining football” have been the popular clichés used to describe their matches, but the words that fans will be looking to see are: Highlanders win again!
To add to their misery, Highlanders have not won a single match on the road since 2018, a worrying statistic for a side that should almost always be chasing the championship.
It is on record that Amahlolanyama’s last away victory was a narrow 1-0 win against Triangle at Gibbo Stadium in 2018 and since then, three coaches, Madinda Ndlovu, Pieter de Jongh and Mpofu, have overseen the team into 24 winless away matches.
If their previous visit to the Eastern Highlands is anything to go by, then the Bulawayo side my just return home empty handed.
Highlanders were beaten 1-0 by table toppers, Manica Diamond in December at the same venue.
Highlanders’ players met among themselves last week to deliberate on the crisis at hand and Mpofu will be hoping that the meeting will produce positive results.
On paper, Highlanders should have an ordinary 90 minutes, but the loss to City proved that they no longer have the air of invincibility that they once had.
Mpofu has a lot of quality players at his disposal; Nqobizitha Masuku, Ariel Sibanda, Peter Mudhuwa, Joel Ngodzo, Winston Mhago, Adrian Silla, et al, but yet still can’t seem to get it just right.
They face a Tenax side whose only claim to fame is being part of the 18 clubs campaigning in the PSL, but no odds-on favourites to claim their visitors’ scalp.
Ironically, Tenax are sitting one point ahead of Highlanders on five points from the same number of games having won one, drawn two and lost two of their first five matches in their debut season in the premiership.
Ordinarily, they shouldn’t be much more than a pesky nuisance, but as they wait to troop onto the field this afternoon, they are surprisingly favourites for the three points on offer.
Tenax have been able to avoid being overrun by any of the previous five opponents all of whom have had prior premiership experienced and roster that’s miles better than theirs.
Just last weekend, Tenax was in Bulawayo and managed to hold star studded Bulawayo Chiefs. Sunday’s result could prove vital to both teams’ campaigns.
After a much-anticipated victory over Dynamos in Harare last Sunday, Chicken Inn welcome ZPC Kariba to Luveve Stadium this afternoon looking to continue their good start to the year.
The Game Cocks have not lost this year and scalps include Chiefs who played Dynamos yesterday.
Joey Antipas has shrewdly rebuilt his team and signed key players who are already proving a catch for the former champions.
Goals seem to be coming easy for Antipas who now has the luxury to choose between a slower build up using a playmaker or just run down his opponents using the pace he has at his disposal.
In other matches, troubled Caps United are home to Whawha at the National Sports Stadium, while Cranborne Bullets welcome Black Rhinos to Baobab in an all-army clash and Triangle host Ngezi Platinum Stars at Gibbo.
Fixtures today: CAPS Utd v Whawha (NSS); Cranborne Bullets v Black Rhinos (Baobab); Tenax v Highlanders (Sakubva); Triangle v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Gibbo); Chicken Inn v ZPC Kariba (Luveve)
– @RealSimbaJemwa
