How Mine begin Caf Cup preps

Sports Reporter
DESPITE losing the Mbada Diamonds Cup final to Highlanders on Saturday, How Mine have started planning for their Caf Confederation Cup adventure. The gold miners, who had a fairytale Premiership debut that saw them getting into the final of the country’s richest knockout tournament, the Mbada Diamonds Cup, are looking to make a mark in Africa.

How Mine were registered for the Caf Confederation Cup ahead of Highlanders who are banned from participating in continental competitions until 2015.

The miners will get $90,000 prizemoney for being Mbada Diamonds Cup runners-up and will also get a $110,000 subsidy from Mbada Diamonds for their Caf Confederation Cup participation.

In an interview from How Mine which is on the outskirts of Bulawayo, head coach Philani “Beefy” Ncube said he had met his club’s executive to plan for their Caf competition preparations.

“We are starting our preparations early because we have to be ready for the Caf Confederation Cup. Actually we are going into the market soon to bolster our squad in all departments. We do not want to go there just to make up numbers but to effectively compete and obviously make a lasting impression. All this requires us to work hard and be prepared,” Ncube said.

The former Njube Sundowns gaffer was full of praise for his players for their gallant performance.

How Mine finished within the top eight bracket in the Premiership and on their way to the Mbada Diamonds Cup final they booted out pre-tournament favourites Dynamos and Caps United.

On Saturday, How Mine found the going tough against Highlanders whom they had beaten twice in the Premiership.

Bosso turned on the heat and put on a sublime show as they beat their opponents 3-0 with goals from Njabulo Ncube, Peter “Rio” Moyo who was voted as the man of the match and Masimba Mambare.

How Mine were ripped apart in midfield where their chief architect Mernard Mupera was not given any room to manoeuvre, with the usually reliable Thembani Masuku chasing shadows while Warren Dube was kept under lock and key for the entire game.

How Mine’s coach admitted that Highlanders were superior in a match that he thinks was easier to win than lose. “To be honest we failed to control the intensity of the game. They were in control and we were always second to the ball which made things bad for us. We crumbled when it mattered most and as we were trying to get an equaliser they got a second goal. Personally, I think the Dynamos and Caps United games were tougher than the Highlanders game but like I said, we failed to control the game and we lost,” said Ncube.

How Mine beat Dynamos 1-0 at Rufaro Stadium in the quarter-finals and went on to knock Caps United out of the competition in the semi-finals 4-2 after a penalty shootout.

The writing was always on the wall that they were going to have a torrid time against Bosso.

In the opening minutes of the match, Njabulo missed a sitter less than a metre from the goalline. Before getting his name onto the score sheet, the Highlanders striker saw his header missing the target by inches.

Veteran How Mine defender Hebert Dick, who is normally reliable, looked jittery as he failed to keep up with Gabriel Nyoni’s pace while Masimba Mambare was on fire forcing the miners’ leftback Khumbulani Banda to be always on the back foot throughout the match.

How Mine had two chances which they should have converted with the first one being a stinger from Dube after the quarter-hour mark which Munyaradzi Diya punched back into play but Nqobile Mpala reacted slowly to the rebound.

Another scoring opportunity came in the second half after Warriors’ striker Simba Sithole had dribbled past three Highlanders players in the second half but Diya did well to block the effort.

With their focus on the Confederation Cup, it is likely that How Mine will retain most of their experienced players like Gilbert Banda, Nyasha Mukumbi, goalkeeper Ephraim Mazarura, their outstanding player of the year Mupera as well as Brighton Dube and Khumbulani.