Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo
Happy with the progress that his charges have shown, stretching their unbeaten run to four matches, Bulawayo Chiefs FC coach Lizwe Sweswe says their focus is on fighting relegation from the top.
Bulawayo Chiefs clobbered Hwange 3-0 in the first Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match to be played at the Colliery Stadium courtesy of goals by Ayanda Ncube, Nkosilathi Ncube and Nixon Gama.
Winning three consecutive league matches was a first for Bulawayo Chiefs since gaining promotion into the topflight in 2018. In the past, Bulawayo Chiefs who are unbeaten in four matches used to get two wins which were either broken by a draw or defeat.
Bulawayo Chiefs last registered a defeat when they went down 2-1 away at FC Platinum, a result that was followed by 2-2 draw against Chicken Inn, a 3-2 away win against Dynamos, then a 2-1 victory at home to Yadah before last weekend’s 3-0 result against Hwange.
The Hwange win took Bulawayo Chiefs’ points tally to 12, tying them with Dynamos who are on position four, Manica Diamonds (five), seventh on the table Chicken Inn and FC Platinum.
Sweswe says he is not reading much into his team being among the league’s top sides, occupying position six on the table.
“We’re going through a regeneration stage after losing a number of players and what is key for us is to survive relegation and maintain the team’s PSL status. Whenever we can, we’ve to try to collect as many points as possible to be safe because with the way our squad is composed, we can’t be counted among teams fighting for honours.
“We want to expose the unknown boys to the Premiership and give them that opportunity to showcase their talents. However, playing unheralded players regularly requires us to win our matches so that these unknown individuals gain confidence,” said Sweswe.
Bulawayo Chiefs lost a number of players at the beginning of the year which is attributed to financial challenges that the club was facing.
Among players lost after guiding the club to the 202 Chibuku Super Cup were veteran utility player Kelvin Madzongwe who has established himself as a vital cog at Caps United, the trio of Elvis Moyo, Kelvin Moyo and Arthur Musiyiwa who joined Dynamos as well as winger Wilson Mensah, midfielder Lucky Ndlela and goalkeeper Matripples Muleya who are with Triangle United.
Some of the unheralded players that Sweswe has unleashed at Bulawayo Chiefs are fullbacks, 20-year-old Brian Rusinga who was signed from Talen Vision and Kim Joe Sibanda (22) who joined the club from Ngezi Platinum Stars.
There’s also goalkeeper Khulekani Dube who was with First Division side Talen Vision. Dube has started in all Bulawayo Chiefs’ wins having taken the number one spot after goalkeeper Issah Ali picked a red card in Chicken Inn’s draw.
Sweswe will be hoping that his charges maintain their winning run when they play host to Sheasham at Luveve Stadium on Saturday.
“It will be a tough game playing Sheasham who have been playing well. They are unbeaten in six games which shows their capabilities. All we have to do is go with the right attitude and continue fighting for positive results,” said Sweswe.
— @ZililoR
Online Reporter