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With Harare giants Dynamos having cut the lead to just three points with a game in hand, talk in the soccer circles has been that the log leaders who are yet to lose a match are likely to buckle under pressure and surrender their lead but coach Kelvin Kaindu thinks otherwise.
“We are not playing Dynamos but Motor Action and with that, we were preparing for the arrival of our opponents which like I said is Motor Action. I have always said that no matter how well Dynamos plays, that will not affect us in any way as we will only concentrate on our game,” said Kaindu.
He reported a clean bill of health.
Meawhile ,Motor Action coach Joe Antipas has already said his side has what it takes to put a stop to the steam rolling Highlanders who survived a bruising treatment at the hands of new boys Harare City last week to come out with a draw.
Antipas, who won the championship in 2010, probably is relying on history and indeed it favours him. Bosso have not only failed to beat Motor Action in their last four outings since 2010, but are also yet to score past the big gangly goalkeeper Marlon Jani over the same period. Where they have managed to score, The Mighty Bulls posted a 3-2 win at Barbourfields while the other two previous meetings in 2009 ended 1-1. That surely should give Antipas all the reasons to believe that his charges can stop Tshilamoya. But then in those meetings, he had the likes of Bhekimpilo Ncube, Milton Ncube, Masimba Mambare, Charles Sibanda among other host of stars. Now those players are no longer receiving a salary from Eric Rosen but somewhere else and coincidentally, three of them are now with Bosso. For Amahlolanyama, the desire to win looks stronger than the fear of losing.
Kaindu will probably go for experience in all departments and that should see the mature, on-and-off the field, Graham Ncube starting for the first time in three games as the lone striker.
Enterprising play is set to be on the wings where Highlanders have some of the deadliest wing players in Mambare and Milton Ncube or even Heritani Masuku.
Highlanders have to keep an eagle’s eye on the two Motor Action Ncubes, Fortune and Merciful while Mthulisi Maphosa should raise his game and take care of young Morris Kadzola.
Former Highlanders players Protasho Kabwe and Misheck Mburayi could probably still have a score to settle with their former paymasters.
Motivated Shabanie Mine, who received a $10 000 cash boost from Veddette Trading recently, are on the road to Rufaro Stadium to square off with Monomotapa who have been on a steady rise in their last few games and are dark horses in the championship race.
Quelaton, under Farai Sibanda, are away to fellow neighbours in the strugglers’,, Hardbody at Ascot Stadium.
Chipangano coach Tennant Chilumba has since declared that he is ready for the visiting Chicken Inn, sitting on position four on the log standings but the Zambian will be without his fellow countryman Aaron Katebe and striker Winston Mhango who received red cards during their match against Harare City at the Colliery.
Chicken Inn chocked a 2-1 win at Luveve Stadium in the reverse fixture and are keen on completing a double over a Chipangano side that declared their title ambitions before the start of the season, until Kaindu came along.
Fixtures
Today: Monomotapa v Shabanie Mine (Rufaro), FC Platinum v Blue Rangers (Mandava), Black Mambas v Harare City (Morris Depot).
Tomorrow: Highlanders v Motor Action (BF), Dynamos v Gunners (Rufaro), Hwange v Chicken Inn (Colliery), Hardbody v Quelaton (Ascot), Buffaloes vs Caps United (Sakubva).
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