Billiat a threat as Bosso look to tame Yadah at home opener

HIGHLANDERS boss Kelvin Kaindu has a name on his mind when facing Yadah Stars — Khama Billiat.

The formidable Yadah striker is Kaindu’s top concern as he prepares for their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the Heart Stadium in Harare this afternoon.

Highlanders are in uncharted territory, as the stadium only opened this year and Yadah has proven to be a tough team to beat at home.

They have drawn against PSL newbies Chegutu Pirates, league leaders FC Platinum and Manica Diamonds, but their most impressive match came from beating Chicken Inn 2-1. Even more impressive, Yadah held Harare giants, Dynamos, to a scoreless draw at Rufaro. Their only home defeat came in their first match, a 1-2 loss to Simba Bhora.

While the venue of the fixture is not Kaindu’s main concern, he knows that Bosso will have to bring their best defence to the pitch to contain Billiat.

“We just have to acclimatise. We have not played there or trained there. None of our players have played there. We just hope the formation we will deploy works to our advantage,” said Kaindu.

“We play them at a time when Khama is enjoying his form in terms of scoring and is quite influential. He is a seasoned and very good player and given room to play, he can play. We just hope that our defence and probably the whole team, will be at their best to keep watch over him.”

In addition to the Yadah challenge, Highlanders will be without goalkeeper Raphael Pitisi and midfielder Mckinnon Mushore for the game.

Both players are in South Africa representing the Warriors in the Cosafa Cup tournament.
Pitisi has been outstanding for Bosso since starting in place of the injured Ariel Sibanda, while Mushore has shown great skills in helping Highlanders to play and even managed to secure an assist in their last game.

Nonetheless, Kaindu is confident and hopes that the team’s formation will work to their advantage, as they tackle Yadah eager to snatch a win and take further strides in their quest for success.

“They have been quite instrumental; no wonder they have been selected for the national team. I think from the day Pitisi started playing, he has been outstanding, coming up as cover for Ariel, and Mckinnon has been very good, especially if you look at his last game how he helped us to play and also managed to get an assist in the goal that we scored.”

In other matches this afternoon, Pacesetters FC Platinum will engage in an away fixture against TelOne at Gweru’s Bata Stadium.

In their previous fixture, FC Platinum edged Simba Bhora 1-0 while TelOne came from a goal behind to beat bottom-placed Arenel Movers.

Luveve Stadium will stage the game between Bulawayo Chiefs and second-placed Manica Diamonds. Defending champions Ngezi Platinum Stars have a home tie against CAPS United at Baobab Stadium.

On Sunday, bruised Chicken Inn will be hoping to get it right when they square off against Herentals College at Luveve Stadium.

Struggling Hwange welcome unpredictable Bikita Minerals deep in the bowels of Colliery Stadium, while inconsistent Dynamos face Greenfuel at Rufaro Stadium.

PSL Week 17 Fixtures
Saturday
Yadah v Highlanders (Heart Stadium), Bulawayo Chiefs v Manica Diamonds (Luveve), Simba Bhora v ZPC Kariba (Wadzanayi), Ngezi Platinum Stars v CAPS United (Baobab)
Sunday
Hwange v Bikita Minerals (Colliery), Dynamos v GreenFuel (Rufaro), TelOne v FC Platinum (Bata), Chegutu Pirates v Arenel Movers (Baobab), Chicken Inn v Herentals College (Luveve)
-@innocentskizoe