Baobab showdown
By Tadious Manyepo
Ngezi Platinum Stars captain Liberty Chakoroma says they are not paying a lot of attention to what is happening in the Highlanders camp as they face the Bulawayo giants in a top-of-the-table clash at Baobab this afternoon. Both teams are unbeaten in the league so far this season with the Mhondoro miners topping the log after having accumulated 19 points in seven games while Bosso are two points behind in second place.
Coach Madinda Ndlovu and his men have been hit by a number of injuries to key players who include Nigel Makumbe, Ozias Zibande and Honest Moyo.
All the players in the casualty ward are key members of the Bosso revival in a season they have found a way to bond well with their fans, as thousands come to their matches home and away.
Tendai Ndlovu, Bukhosi Ncube and Thabo Lunga are also nursing injuries.
Thousands of Bosso fans are expected to converge in Ngezi and turn the sleepy mining town into a sea of black-and-white this afternoon.
But Chakoroma warned his teammates not to read much into what is happening in the Bosso camp.
“Highlanders are Highlanders, they are unbeaten in the league and I am sure they want to stretch that run as far as possible,’’ he said.
“It doesn’t matter who is in or who is out, they remain a very strong team.
“Whatever is happening in their camp has nothing to do with us. We have to play to the best of our abilities if we are to win the match.
“This is probably going to be our toughest match so far this season.
“Highlanders are not only a good side, but a big club as well with a rich history. So paying attention to what is happening in their camp will be suicidal.”
Ngezi Platinum Stars have hit the back of the net 10 times in seven games and, crucially, they have scored in each of their games.
Even on days when they have not been doing well, they have found a way to win matches.
Bosso have scored 11 goals and only failed to score in their goalless home draw against Triangle United.
“We have been working on our defence,” said Ndlovu.
“I am confident they will play well. You can’t completely prevent teams you’re playing against from scoring, but what we know is that we’re also a free-scoring team.
“We’ve been scoring in our games. That’s (conceding) not a worry, that’s how boys grow; they make mistakes and we work on the mistakes. I’m not crucifying my players for the goals we’ve conceded, I can only commend them for learning because they’re still growing.
“We have to minimise goals we concede and score more. I think the two teams are capable of scoring and if we’ve been scoring, I don’t see the reason why we must not score against Ngezi.” The Herald
