Is it gonna be Arenel or ZPC Hwange?

Noel Munzabwa

AS we inch closer to action returning in the Zifa Southern Region Division One after a mid-term and 2023 harmonised elections induced hiatus, its prophetic time to take stock of the excruciating campaign this far.

It is highly expected that the soccer bosses will soon communicate resumption plans in the next few hours or days but for the sports desk it’s probably time to add the ‘let me see you go back, let me see you come forth’ chorus to the race.

Without hesitantly ruling out any miraculous twists and turns to the race by the rest in the pack, Zimpapers Sports Hub zoomed into the top two teams’ technical heads to re-live the action and head forth to future possibilities.

Indisputably so for both, the ultimate objective and focus in their Human Resources’ SMART goals will be winning the second tier to automatically gain promotion into the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League which will be maiden dance for both Arenel or ZPC Hwange.

Log leaders and heavy favourites, Arenel coach Kudzi Mhandire and his ZPC Hwange counterpart Njabulo Dube have taken stock of the excruciating campaign accounting for the bleeps, blunders and everything in between.

Mhandire, formerly with CIWU said below par preparations led to their sluggish but results sweetened their pole position.
“We had a below par preparation hence the rather sluggish start we had where we really had to labour for results in the first four to five games winning with identical 1-0 victories.

“When we then got it all together and cruised the biggest high was beating our rivals ZPC by 3-0 with goals coming from a brace by Reason Sibanda and the other from Learoy Ndlovu, it has been a roller coaster so far.

“I think it’s only consistency that can see us through the home stretch as the saying goes strikers win you games and defenders win you the league such is our case we boast of the best defence in the league which has out of 18 games bean breached twice.

“This is probably a positive on its own hopefully the boys keep the same hunger and determination they showed in the first half of the season though it’s a thin line we are walking on, we need to show character,” said Mhandire.
On the other side of the divide, Dube, a seasoned campaigner in the league, believes this season they had a much better start.

“This season we started off much better than the previous seasons. We collected crucial points from away games and maintained our good home performance, even though we needed to work on our conversion rate.

“Defensively we were absolutely good. We are happy to be in second position at this point of the campaign, hoping to maintain our performance. The only setback was to lose to the current log leaders at their home.

“In the second half we would like to strengthen our performance and add up on our wins, so that by the end of the season we are probably crowned champions, which I believe it’s every coach’s dream,” said Dube.

It may be early days yet with time being the best prophet to call out the champions to the podium but previous campaigns have seen less dramatic switches with most mid-term leaders going on to win it at the dearth. — @NoelMunzabwa.