Bereaved Silla out…Tshilamoya hard pressed for win
By Sikhumbuzo Moyo
WOUNDED Highlanders will troop into Nyamhunga Stadium in Kariba this afternoon without their hardworking midfielder Adrian Silla who lost his grandmother on Thursday.
A vital cog in the Bosso’s engine room that has youngsters, the 22-year-old Silla had to abandon camp in Harare and rush back to Bulawayo due to the bereavement.
“As we got into the bus to head back to camp we received very sad news. Adrian Silla’s grandmother has passed away back home in Bulawayo. Needless to say, Silla is in pieces. He’s lost the person who practically raised (him),” club chief executive officer Nhlanhla Dube wrote on the team’s official Twitter account.
Highlanders did not return home after their 0-1 loss to Mutare City at a “bushy” Vhengere Stadium in Rusape on Wednesday but drove to Harare to set up temporary base to prepare for the clash against ZPC Kariba.
Tshilamoya will be hard pressed to post a positive result against the electricity man who have refused to be intimidated by their stature and have jealously defended their territory since their entry into the Premier Soccer League as they are yet to lose to Highlanders at home.
In their debut season in 2014, the two teams drew 1-1, the best result that Bosso have posted at Nyamhunga, in fact, the only match in which they managed to score as the next three matches they lost without scoring as well.
Bosso lost 0-2 to ZPC Kariba in 2015 and last season while in 2016, they were handed a 0-1 loss but the young crop at the club are in a class of their own and very much eager to write their own piece of history.
With Silla out of today’s encounter, coach Madinda Ndlovu might throw in Ben Munsaka to complement the efforts of star midfielder, Denzel Khumalo, who has probably cemented his place in the starting line up. Had he been part of the squad when the season started, his name in the country’s best 11 players might have been an automatic entry.
The possibility of Khumalo making it into the calendar is still there unless the minimum of 10 games criteria is changed.
Fixtures:
Today: FC Platinum v Herentals (Mandava), Byo City v Chicken Inn (BF), ZPC Kariba v Highlanders (Nyamhunga), Caps Utd v Shabanie Mine (NSS)
Sunday: Chapungu v Nichrut (Ascot), Byo Chiefs v Triangle United (Luveve), Harare City v Dynamos (Rufaro), Black Rhinos v Mutare City (NSS). The Chronicle.
