By Ricky Zililo
BULAWAYO – A bullish reigning Premiership Goalkeeper of the Year, Ariel Sibanda, is confident that Highlanders will turn the tables on Dynamos in tomorrow’s final leg of the Bob 89 Super Cup at Rufaro Stadium.
Dynamos won 2-1 in the first leg played at Barbourfields Stadium a fortnight ago getting their goals from Tawada Muparati and Patrick Khumbula while Bosso got their consolation goal from Beavan Chikaka.
The Bob 89 Super Cup being played tomorrow marks a belated celebration of President Mugabe’s 89th birthday which was on Thursday. Winners of the competition will walk away with $100 000 richer while runners up will receive $70 000.
Sibanda, also Highlanders’ deputy captain, said they wanted to restore lost pride and would give their best against the Harare giants. He said the players were looking forward to the game and morale in his camp was very high.
“It is not just about money but our pride is at stake and we just have to fight hard to restore that. Everyone is looking forward to the final and I am sure it is going to be an interesting game.
“We know that they won the first leg and what we need is to win. The scoreline might seem impossible to overturn but to us as a team it’s mission possible. If they managed to score two goals what can make us fail to score two goals in Harare and even avoid conceding?” said Sibanda.
The former Plumtree High School pupil who is eyeing a return to the senior national team draws confidence from the fact that they dominated Dynamos in the first leg but failed to convert that dominance into goals.
Highlanders was all over DeMbare in the first leg as they controlled the midfield and kept Dynamos’ strikers under lock and key but Bosso fell short upfront. A two-goal margin win for Highlanders will see them taking the trophy and the huge purse which goes with it.
However, it will not be a walk in the park for Bosso as DeMbare’s confidence levels are high following last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 victory over Lesotho Correctional Services in a Caf Champions League match played at Rufaro Stadium.
The problem with Highlanders is in their strikeforce and it remains to be seen who Zambian coach Kelvin Kaindu will start tomorrow. After the first leg defeat to Dynamos, Kaindu conceded that he had no strikers and said the club did not have money to buy sharp shooters.
“We are facing a problem with strikers and to be honest the club does not have money to buy a striker. What this means is that we use the strikers we have. As a coach my job is to produce a striker who will score for the team,” said Kaindu.
Club returnee Thabani Moyo, Cleopas “Balloteli” Dube, Graham Ncube who last scored for Highlanders in May last year, Beavan Chikaka and another old horse Njabulo Ncube are some of the attacking options for Kaindu.
Dube replaced Graham on the hour mark in the first leg against Dynamos but failed to stamp his authority while Njabulo and Moyo were not in the team.
Some of the players expected to feature for Bosso include Lawson Nkomo who made up for a horrific show when Bosso played host to Mamelodi Sundowns last month and put an improved performance against DeMbare with Peter “Rio” Moyo enjoying himself in the midfield for Highlanders.
Masimba Mambare, kept under lock and key for the better part of the afternoon by Muparati and Ocean Mushure, Mthulisi Maphosa and Peter are expected to be Highlanders’ attacking midfielders.
DeMbare coach Callisto Pasuwa might opt to have two defensive midfielders Stephen Alimenda and Gift Bello with Muparati assigned to keep a hawk’s eye on Mambare. Dynamos defenders Patson Jaure and Thomas Magorimbo are likely to keep Bosso strikers at bay.
Muparati said they are going to attack from the first whistle.
“They (Highlanders) are chasing the game and they will come at us but we are ready and we intend to attack as well. There is no need for us to defend since we are leading and what we need is to score at least once and the pressure will be on them,” said Muparati.
Meanwhile, Highlanders secretary Andrew Tapela yesterday called on bonafide club members to register at the team’s Masotsha Ndlovu clubhouse for the trip to Harare. He said Nyaradzo Funeral Services was providing a bus to Harare and back.
“We would like to call upon our card carrying supporters to go to the clubhouse tomorrow morning and register from 10am for a seat in the bus. It’s strictly on a first come first served basis,” said the veteran football administrator and coach.
He said the clubhouse would be a hive of activity in the evening with entertainment provided by the city’s disc jockeys in an event league sponsors Delta Beverages are involved in.
