adminSenior Sports Reporter
RED lights are flashing for Manicaland-based teams in the domestic top-flight league — Buffaloes and Dongo Sawmills — who are yet to win a single league encounter and remain rooted at the basement of the Castle Lager Premiership log table. That both teams made history by becoming the first set of two teams based in the eastern province to play in the Premiership at the same time in the post-independence era could have left Manicaland with the bragging rights in terms of football talent, but their performance so far has been a bad advert of football in the province.
The Castle Lager Premiership season teeters into MatchDay Seven and in the six rounds of league matches played so far, Buffaloes only managed to settle for four draws and two defeats, while their Rusape counterparts drew twice and were on the receiving end a massive four times.
Be that as it may, Buffaloes will be back at Sakubva on Sunday for a date against Chapungu and caretaker coach Joseph Takaringofa knows fully well the importance of winning this match.
Interestingly, lanky and ageing defensivelink-man, Tafadzwa Mombeshora, will be making a sensational return to Sakubva Stadium when his new paymasters, Chapungu, face win-less Buffaloes FC.
Mombeshora was at Buffaloes for the entire 2014 Castle Lager Premiership season, together with former teammates at Shabanie Mine that include Frankson Bushiri and Simon Choenda.
The players, part of a small number of civilians in the team back then, had a torrid time in Mutare as they struggled to get their weekly allowances, let alone find money to feed their bellies as the team went through acute financial challenges.
But Mombeshora, who went on to join the Gweru airmen at the start of the year, will be back at Sakubva and the workaholic has promised to give his former employers a difficult time on the field of play.
“I think I will be in Mutare for business and nothing else. I am now with Chapungu and I must do justice to my employers by giving 110 percent effort.
“I know Buffaloes are a good side, especially when they are playing at home, but I believe we also have an equally competitive outfit, if not better, hence my expectations are that we will get maximum points come Sunday,” said Mombeshora.
In a separate interview, Buffaloes spokesperson, Gladman Chimonyo, urged fans to throng Sakubva Stadium in their numbers and render support to the Mutare side. Chimonyo said the team might have been going through a lean spell, but their performance was not that bad and had been creating chances, albeit failing to score.
“I think it is up to every progressive resident of Mutare and beyond, with the love of football and the city, to come to Sakubva Stadium and watch Buffaloes in action.
“Yes, things have not been rosy for the team, given the abrupt changes that took place in the technical department, but we are confident that we will get out of the mud and start posting good results. “However, we cannot do this all alone. We need the support of all soccer lovers.
“We have always said that the only way that people in Mutare can support soccer in general and Buffaloes in particular is to pay their $3 and support their only Premiership team resident in the city,” said Chimonyo.
The fairly new Buffaloes spokesperson said they were not yet pressing the panic button on caretaker coach Joseph Takaringofa, but were still exploring ways to bolster their technical department.
Meanwhile, Dongo Sawmills will be making the long trip to the Colliery to face unpredictable Hwange on Sunday and coach Shadreck “Father” Mugurasave understands that he badly needs to start winning matches.
“We are playing quite well as a team, but somehow we are failing to score. We have been losing by an identical 0-1 scoreline.
“It is indeed a cause for concern because we should also be wondering where we are heading. However, we will continue to fight and look forward to the next match with the aim of getting points,” said Mugurasave in a post-match interview after his team’s defeat at the hands of an equally unimpressive Highlanders at Vengere Stadium last Sunday.
Fixtures
Friday: FC Platinum v Tsholotsho FC (Mandava Stadium);
Saturday: How Mine FC v Whawha FC (Barbourfields Stadium, 1500hrsSS); ZPC Kariba FC v Flame Lily FC (Gwanzura Stadium):
Sunday: Highlanders FC v Caps United FC (Barbourfields Stadium; 1500hrs SS); Buffaloes FC v Chapungu FC (Sakubva Stadium); Hwange FC v Dongo Sawmill FC (Colliery Stadium); Triangle V United FC v Harare City FC (Gibbo Stadium); Dynamos FC v Chicken Inn FC (Rufaro).
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