Bosso out to spoil Ngezi Platinum party

Innocent Kurira

HIGHLANDERS FC are hoping to use the pain of giving Ngezi Platinum Stars a guard of honour and later on, watching them lift the 2023 league title as an inspiration to leave nothing to chance in their bid to end the club’s league trophy drought next season.

Ngezi will take on Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday in the last game of the season. A guard of honour is a display of respect that usually takes place after the team that wins the league is confirmed. Bosso assistant coach Joel Luphahla admits it will not be easy for the Highlanders family to have to honour the champions from Mhondoro at Emagumeni.

“We want to make sure we are remembered through this last game. We know it’s going to be difficult for the Highlanders family because we are going to give Ngezi a guard of honour and that is going to be very painful. “We have spoken with coach Madinda, and we have discussed how difficult that is going to be but we have said to the players, let’s not take that as a negative thing to us, but let the moment inspire us to do well next season,” said Luphahla.

He hopes Bosso will at least win against Ngezi and end the season on a high note.

“Let that pain be the inspiration for us to do well next season. We have seen that we can do that. We had this in our hands but unfortunately there is no one to blame. We let it go. It’s going to be difficult on Sunday. The only thing we can do on Sunday is to make sure we win that game. We are going to field a good team and hopefully we get the win,” said Luphahla. He added that they will look to rectify the mistake they made in last week’s defeat at the hands of Manica Diamonds away from home.

“It is very important for us that we end the season well. I remember we said last week that our intention was to get nine points from the three games we were left in charge of the team. But last week it was a very difficult game but we had an opportunity to rectify all the wrongs to rights.” First assistant coach Madinda Ndlovu also stressed the need for the team to avoid defeat on Sunday. “We are going to our last match of the season. We are looking at giving our supporters a good send-off. We are looking at trying to win the game at all costs. We don’t know how we are going to fare but we are hoping to give our fans an early Christmas present. “The only present we can give them is to win the game. We know if we win that game we will rub off a lot of other things which happened during the season. “Our intention is to go there and win the game. We will use everything in our power to try and win that game so that we please our supporters,” said Ndlovu.

Meanwhile, Chicken Inn FC head coach Prince Matore is confident that he will still be in charge of the Gamecocks next season despite an unimpressive campaign.

The ambitious Chicken Inn who face Hwange at the Colliery Stadium on Sunday, find themselves sitting in position seven on the log standings with 48 points, 18 behind league champions, Ngezi Platinum.

Asked if he felt he would still be in charge of the Gamecocks next season, Matore was confident in his response.

“My job is safe because what is important is to compete at the top because in a competition, everyone wants to win, even Cranborne Bullets did not want to get relegated, but this is a competition. If you are not in the chasing pack someone will get in, if you don’t win you have to try again.

“As much as we are not happy, what is important now is what is there. We have checked on the games we lost and drew and we have seen some errors,” said Matore.

Matore’s best finish on the log table can only be position six, provided Herentals College FC, who are sixth fail to pick up points in their last game. The Students, as Herentals are popularly known, will face CAPS United in Harare on Sunday as well.

The Chicken Inn gaffer added that there will be some changes in his team going forward as he took time to congratulate Ngezi Platinum for the good season they have had.

“Definitely, we are doing some changes on some positions but not many. When we started the season we thought we would be among the chasing pack. During the course of the season we picked up many draws and they derailed us. But the team accounted well for themselves. What is important now is to focus and continue doing well.

“Congratulations to them (Ngezi), they did well. It was not an easy road, they had to fight,” said Matore.

Fixtures:Saturday: Cranborne Bullets v ZPC Kariba (Mandava), Yadah v Dynamos (NSS), Simba Bhora v Black Rhinos (Baobab), Sheasham v FC Platinum (Bata), Greenfuel v Triangle United (Greenfuel), Bulawayo Chiefs v Manica Diamonds (Luveve)Sunday: Hwange v Chicken Inn (Colliery), Highlanders v Ngezi Platinum (Barbourfields Stadium), Caps United v Herentals (NSS)-@innocentskizoe