Online Reporter
Onward Gangata, [email protected]
THERE was always going to be hype around Hardrock this season after the grand opening of their Chahwanda Stadium and the manner in which they did their transfer business at the beginning of the season.
But very few would have imagined the new boys tearing apart their opponents with such ruthlessness as they have done in their past two games.
The Kelvin Kaindu-coached side have netted nine goals in the last two games, ripping through FC Hunters 6-1 last weekend and on Saturday humiliating TelOne 3-0 in their own backyard.
That win saw Hardrock climb to the top of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League with 24 points before the Harare Derby yesterday.
These were not just wins out of the blue; there was something systematic and methodical in how Hardrock annihilated their opponents.
Against TelOne, Kaindu named an unchanged side, giving a run to the same 11 that did business the previous week.
A sign that the Zambian has established the spine of what could be a title-challenging side.
Goalkeeper, Tonderai Mateyaunga, guarding the goal with Lennox Mucheto and Tinotenda Muringai on either flank of the defence, while captain Munyaradzi Diro Nyenye and Misheck Ngwenya partnered in the heart of defence.
The midfield trio of Junior Makunike, Neliswa Dhlamini and Munashe Bamara was given the nod.
Upfront, Navaya led the line flanked by Zambian Andrew Phiri and Sambulo Simelani on their side.
Statistically, the Kasongo Boys look very impressive, boasting the best attack in the league with 19 goals and the second-best defence with six goals.
Despite these impressive records, Kaindu remains modest about the Kwekwe side’s title ambitions.
“It is too early to be talking about the title, we want to take each game as it comes, for us, we are a newly promoted side, there are big teams already there.
“It is an advantage that we are picking up points this early in the season, we are also getting the goals and today we kept a clean sheet, which is good,” he said after the victory against TelOne.
It would be folly to take Kaindu’s words seriously; coaches have a way of masking their intentions.
But performances always tell the actual story. Hardrock are playing with confidence and zeal.
Reigning soccer star of the year, Navaya, has found his range; his goal tally rose to five goals when he converted a penalty against his former team.
That makes Hardrock dangerous, but it gets even better for Kaindu in that the goals in his team are spread all across the pitch.
Expatriate forward Simelani was on the score sheet on Saturday, becoming the fifth player in two outings to register his name on the score sheet.
“It is good to pick points away from home and also trying to maintain our scoring ability, we managed to score three goals despite struggling to play the way we wanted.
“For us to score three goals shows us that we are trying to go somewhere and to have a different player that scored a brace shows we have different players that can score at any time,” said Kaindu.
