The Sunday News
Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
FIVE matches, no win, three draws and two defeats while conceding five and scoring twice has given wretched Highlanders an imperfect start to this year’s Castle Lager Premiership season.
From a possible 15 points, Madinda Ndlovu’s charges have collected a paltry three points which translates to a wanting success rate of 20%. If Bosso, who have been limping from one poor result to the next, were a school child, their parents will surely be worried on such poor performance as the future looks bleak for this ECD project on which many have wondered on when it will graduate into “Grade One” and start to really compete with the rest of the league’s formidable clubs.
By this time last season, Ndlovu’s ECD project had posted four wins and a single draw while conceding just once which gave the Bulawayo giants a perfect start, as it meant that their success rate stood at 87%. This was before Ngezi Platinum Stars handed them their first defeat of the season on 28 April 2018 when the miners raced to a narrow 1-0 win at Baobab Stadium.
The Bosso side is lacking sharpness and cohesion too in an affront to the fans from the black and white camp that have continuously thronged Barbourfields Stadium and other venues in the country in anticipation of gratifying results. Alas, that has not been the case, as before the Match Day Six fixtures, Bosso were among the four clubs (Highlanders, Yadah FC, Mushowani and Bulawayo Chiefs) who were yet to post a victory in this 2019 campaign.
Simply put, so far Bosso are boring, uninspiring and predictable. Consequently, Ndlovu, his assistants and the club’s players need to buck their ideas up ahead of this afternoon’s tricky tie against Nation Dube’s red-hot Hwange. It is atrocious when you think about it as the former champions, prior to Week Six fixtures programme, were one of the seven teams (Bosso, Bulawayo Chiefs, Yadah FC, Mushowani, Dynamos, Black Rhinos and Harare City) in the league, that were on a negative goal difference.
Bosso have only scored twice and conceded five times meaning they are on an uninspiring goal difference of -3. The development further suggests that the Ariel Sibanda -captained side’s defence is not watertight and up front it has been a mess for them.
“We did not do right in preparations, you do right in your preparations then you are guaranteed of starting well,” said Ndlovu.
Bosso players embarked on a strike in a protest against the late payment of their salaries during the off season. The club leadership is also divided following the suspension of two executive members by the board after a fall out on the contract of CEO Nhlanhla Dube. Those relieved of their duties reportedly wanted his contract not renewed. The chairman has also come under the spotlight with some accusing him of being “captured” by a section of the club.
