H’landers ‘a scary lot’

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
REIGNING Castle Lager Premiership Coach of the Year Bigboy Mawiwi says Highlanders are the team to beat this year ahead of their Bob90 Super Cup semi-final tie.
The two teams clash at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow to set a mouth watering  tie with defending champions Dynamos in the final.
The Harare City coach believes pressure will be on the Bulawayo giants whose supporters would accept nothing other than emphatic victories this season because of the massive buying spree that has seen them make eight new signings.

Bosso have signed Welcome Ndiweni, Charles Sibanda, Joel Ngodzo, Khumbulani Banda, Valentine Ndaba, Kudakwashe Mahachi, Rahman Kutsanzira and Charles Chindungwe and there are reports that Alick Marime could join as well.

“Without any doubt, Highlanders are a scary lot this season judging by their acquisitions so far and meeting them requires a lot of courage,” Mawiwi said.

“However, expectations from their fans are also very high, something which might haunt them but as Harare City, we are not scared of them. Playing them on Sunday (tomorrow) will give us a perfect opportunity to gauge our strength.”

Mawiwi’s men derailed Highlanders’ Premier League title charge last season, beating them 4-0 in the penultimate                                  game at Rufaro to hand the title to Dynamos.

He added: “We’ll be able to tell what’s ahead of us as a team after Sunday’s match. Harare City is, however, not reading much into Bosso’s new stars but will simply concentrate on our own game plan.

“At the moment, we’ve no team to talk about because our pre-season started just four weeks ago. We don’t have international stars like them and Dynamos.”

The Sunshine Boys themselves have six new faces who are likely to play tomorrow — Arnold Chivheya, Tafadzwa Chimwemwe, Timire Mamvura, Misheck Mburayi, Benson Maglas and Francisco Zvikumbawire.

Highlanders are set to unleash their fiery arsenal but stand-in coach Mark “Duvillard” Mathe said selection will be purely based on merit.

“We don’t use names but performance during training when selecting the team so on Sunday (tomorrow) yes, our new players will be selected barring any injuries. Everyone is fighting for his place and the spirit is positive which is pleasing,” said Mathe.

Mathe acknowledged that he was facing a mammoth task of leading a huge institution like Highlanders but it is a challenge he is willing and ready to take.

Ironically, Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu was also away in the United Kingdom — as he is presently — when Highlanders faced Harare City in that forgettable encounter.

Meanwhile, gate charges for the match have been pegged at $3 for the rest of the ground, $5 for the wings and $10 for VIP.
Spokesman for the organising committee, Charles Mabika said they have stuck to last year’s gate charges in a bid to attract more fans. Highlanders fans will without doubt come in droves as they seek to catch a glimpse of their stars in action.

Mabika said in the event of a stalemate after regulation time, the two teams will go straight into the dreaded penalty shootout.
If that happens, it would be for the second time in two seasons that the two teams resort to a shootout after a thrilling semi-final tie in the Mbada Diamonds Cup at Mandava Stadium last year.

The main curtain-raiser will feature Southern Region legends and a media select side.
“The legends have told us that they want to be ruthless because most of the media guys think they know it all and the match will be time to set the record straight once and for all,” said Mabika.

The media select will be made up of Chronicle, Sunday News, Umthunywa, B-Metro, Southern Eye and ZBC Montrose.
The Bob Super Cup is played annually to mark President Robert Mugabe’s birthday. He turns 90 on February 21.