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Langton Nyakwenda
THEY travelled approximately 11 500 kilometres to fulfil their home fixtures and thousands more for all their away assignments.
In fact, Manica Diamonds played all their 34 games away from home as their base — Sakubva Stadium in Mutare — was deemed unfit to host Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches in the just-ended season.
Their adopted home, Gibbo, in Triangle, is 340km away from Mutare, which meant the Gem Boys travelled at least 680km for each round trip to fulfil a home fixture.
Manica Diamonds travelled about 3 310km in their opening five fixtures of the 2023 league marathon. As a result, they were among the most affected teams in terms of fatigue and recovery time for players.
However, coach Jairos Tapera’s side managed to finish second on the log, their best position since 2019, when they made their Premiership debut.
Manica Diamonds collected 58 points, eight behind champions Ngezi Platinum Stars, and were also the second-highest scorers with 42 goals, three behind the platinum miners.
They also provided one player — striker Fortune Binzi — for the Soccer Stars of the Year calendar.
On reflection, the Gem Boys would feel they could have probably claimed the championship had they not allowed complacency to creep in when losing some crucial points against Cranborne Bullets, Sheasham, Yadah and Black Rhinos in their last assignments.
However, their much-travelled coach Tapera does not want to be a crybaby.
He is already looking to the 2024 season with optimism.
“We have no reason to look down on ourselves,” Tapera said. There are some who doubted Tapera’s pedigree when he was appointed coach on October 3, 2022, replacing Johanisi Nhumwa, who had been sacked for a string of poor results.
The doubting Thomases even felt vindicated when Tapera managed three draws and a win in his first five matches in charge, which happened to be the last games of the 2021/2022 season.
He, however, asked the club management to provide him with funds to overhaul the squad.
Manica Diamonds resultantly opened the chequebook and in came Bret Amidu, Trevor Mavhunga, Donald Ngoma, Ralph Kawondera, Farai Banda, Panashe Mutasa, Gerald Bhero, Kelvin Giwa, Tadious Baye and Binzi.
Binzi top-scored for the club with 10 goals and was the first player to net a hat-trick in the 2023 season.
His goals propelled Manica Diamonds to a club record second-place finish.
They finished sixth in 2019 and 10th in 2022.
Along the way, they posted some big results at Gibbo, where they beat giants Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United.
They also overcame Chicken Inn and walloped Rhinos 4-0 at the same venue.
There were also memorable wins in Hwange and Kariba.
“Now that we have seen it, we know it can be done. We will push to be there on top,” added Tapera. “We believe we have one of the best-assembled teams. Whether we add one or not, the team we have can push us to the top where the big boys are.”
He is the third coach to take charge of Manica Diamonds since their promotion into the top-flight league, succeeding Luke Masomere and Nhumwa. And in only their third season in the Premiership, they have managed to finish second.
“The 2023 season has good memories; it is worth remembering. We will always think about it, and this is for everyone in the Eastern Highlands,” Tapera added.
“We competed very well despite the challenges we faced. It’s a very good history for the club.”
Because of challenges with player fatigue, Tapera and his technical staff — who also include Patrick Mandizha, Tafadzwa Mashiri and Tembinkosi Sibanda — were always on the internet, researching on how to deal with the problem.
“Imagine, the only time we played near Mutare was probably around 700km, to and from Gibbo.
“It was heavy travelling throughout the season and we had issues with fatigue, recovery time and burnout. So, I want to applaud the boys for soldiering on.
“It’s very difficult dealing with fatigue and we had to involve everybody, including psychologists, to talk to the boys.”
He is also happy with the support he has received at the club.
“But, all in all, we are happy with the progress. We salute those who started this project.
“We also applaud the executive, who are very good at identifying leaders to spearhead this Manica Diamonds project.
“When we came, so many quarters were not convinced with our appointment. But I came in with the experience of building a project, which I gained from my days at FC Platinum,” said Tapera.
“I started with FC Platinum from the First Division to what it is today. With teamwork, we can achieve more at Manica Diamonds.”
Online Reporter