adminTHE gods of football must have turned their back on Manicaland as the province watches in agony two of its representatives in the domestic top flight league being relegated to the less fashionable Division One. Buffaloes and Dongo Sawmills became the first two teams to feature in a competitive Manicaland derby for the first time in post independence era.
That only was an achievement worthy celebrating for the province as it gave a good impression about football talent and passion in Manicaland. Alas, Buffaloes and Dongo Sawmills conspired to disappoint and their performance on the field of play in the 2015 Castle Lager Premiership season, to be polite, was a real bad advert to football in the province.
Apparent lack of the zeal to win matches week in week out, sheer technical and tactical inferiority and archaic administrative structures and operations were the hallmark of the two teams’ performance in the season about to come to an end.
That the country is going through a tough cash squeeze, compounded by the crumbling of operations in the Chiadzwa diamond fields, meant soccer in Manicaland, which had become heavily reliant on Mbada Diamonds would suffer.
It is not a secret that Buffaloes used to get periodic handouts from Mbada Diamonds and when the company stopped financially assisting the team owing to its own myriad of challenges, it was highly likely that Buffaloes would have nothing to motivate their players with, let alone attract Premiership class players. The Mutare army side ended up using mediocre talent at its disposal, with typical Area Zone League players being made to line up as Premiership stars.
No one in their right mind would blame coach Saul Chaminuka, if Buffaloes eventually get relegated, given that the veteran gaffer was given the proverbial lemons to produce orange juice! For Dongo Sawmills, it was disaster from the word go.
The Nyanga outfit, which adopted Rusape as its home owing to lack of infrastructure in the resort area of Nyanga, literally personalised the basement position on the table from the onset of the season.
The Francis Dongo owned team will join the history books of domestic Premiership football as one of the few teams that started and ended the league at the basement of the 16 team log table.
What the team managed to prove to us more than anything else is that the people of Rusape still have the passion for the game of football given their huge numbers each time Dongo was at home at Vengere stadium, even though they were not getting results.
Probably coach Shadreck ‘Father’ Mugurasave will draw a number of lessons from the lengthy period he was allowed to remain as the team’s head coach and chief among those lessons would be that he is not yet ‘fatherly’ enough to head the technical department of a serious Premiership outfit.
Maybe Mugurasave could have his excuses given that the players that were at his disposal did not reflect the image of a team serious about its prospects of making a long life among the big boys of local football.
We know and understand that it is not all about big name players but talented players for one to succeed in the Premiership but save for ageing Evans Chikwaikwai, Mugurasave had none between big names or talented players.
Critics could be forgiven to look back and say this was just a doomed project from on the start. Be that as it may, it leaves progressive football lovers in Manicaland going back to the drawing board to find ways of helping soccer teams in the province in launching yet another bid to secure a place in the top flight league, if Buffaloes are eventually relegated.
Online Reporter