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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS are primed to be the first of the traditional giants of domestic football to be hosted at Yadah’s Heart Stadium when they travel to Harare tomorrow for a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match.
The ground, which opened its gate to topflight and division one football in April this year, has so far hosted five Premiership teams after welcoming Simba Bhora, Chegutu Pirates, Chicken Inn, FC Platinum, and Manica Diamonds.
Yadah have been difficult to beat on home turf.
They lost only their first match at Heart Stadium in the 1-2 defeat to Simba Bhora before drawing with new boys Chegutu Pirates and top-of-the-table sides FC Platinum and Manica Diamonds.
Their best performance was when they shocked former champions Chicken Inn 2-1.
Heart Stadium had not been approved when Yadah hosted giants Dynamos at Rufaro for a goalless draw while the match against CAPS United was also moved to the Mbare venue where the Green Machine claimed a 1-0 win.
Bosso coach Kelvin Kaindu said his charges, who are looking to turn around their season after going through a dip in form recently, have set their sights on upsetting the Miracle Boys in their backyard.
Kaindu, however, was still cautious after his side only managed to snap a six-match winless streak in their 1-0 edging of Hwange at Barbourfields last week.
“We still want to stay focused and forget about the result that we managed to get (against Hwange). We have passed through a phase that we were not picking up maximum points in terms of the number of draws that we accumulated,” said Kaindu.
“But playing Yadah is another team that is unpredictable especially when they are playing at home. We just have to remain focused. I think we have also done quite well when playing away and we want to use that to our advantage.
“We have heard teams that have played there (Heart Stadium) in terms of how tough it is. I think these are facts that we cannot change.
“We want to just acclimatise. We have not played there and none of our players has played there. This is the first year the field is being used and we just hope with the little information that we have it’s going to work to our advantage,” said Kaindu.
Goalkeeper Raphael Pitisi and midfielder Mackinnon Mushore will not be part of the Bosso team this weekend as they are currently away on national team duty in South Africa for the COSAFA Cup.
The duo have been among the consistent performers in the team, with Pitisi proving himself a worthy addition to the team after wrestling the gloves from veteran Ariel Sibanda this season.
“Pitisi is not here, he has been consistent in the games that he has played and we are not going to have him because of national team commitments,” said Kaindu.
“I think they (Pitisi and Mushore) are being quite instrumental; no wonder they have been selected to the national team. I think from the day that Pitisi started playing he has been quite outstanding coming up as cover for the injured Ariel Sibanda. “Mushore also has been very good. If you look at the last game, how he helped us to play and also managed to have an assist in the goal that we scored,” said Kaindu.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Yadah v Highlanders (Heart Stadium), Bulawayo Chiefs v Manica Diamonds (Luveve), Bulawayo Chiefs v Manica Diamonds (Luveve), Simba Bhora v ZPC Kariba (Wadzanayi), Ngezi Platinum Stars v CAPS United (Baobab).
Sunday: Hwange v Bikita Minerals (Colliery), Dynamos v GreenFuel (Rufaro), TelOne v FC Platinum (Bata), Chegutu Pirates v Arenel Movers (Baobab), Chicken Inn v Herentals (Luveve)
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter