Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
SIMBA Bhora coach Joel Lupahla believes the Shamva side will soon find the mojo to turn around their season following a slow start in defence of their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title.
Lupahla watched in dejection as his team went down 1-0 to giants Dynamos, who all but have a mediocre side that had not won a league game prior to Sunday’s encounter at Rufaro.
It was a bit disappointing for the champions as they dropped to 12th place with only five points in the bag from a possible 12. They have won only once, drew thrice and lost once.
But the club is not pressing the panic button yet. At this stage last year, Simba Bhora were sitting fourth on the log standings with seven points from two wins, a draw and a defeat. They went on to win their maiden championship comfortably after the full marathon.
However, continuity was always going to be difficult after losing coach Tonderai Ndiraya during the pre-season and almost an entire championship winning side.
Lupahla, who is also new in the setup after joining from Dynamos in January, said he had anticipated the slow start despite having embarked on a vibrant pre-season that took them to South Africa.
“Overall, I think the boys, they’re trying. They’re doing their best; also the management is trying. They’re doing their best in supporting the club, supporting the boys, and it’s just a matter of time that maybe we’ll click,” said Lupahla.
“But we had said it was maybe on game number six, that’s when we’re going to have maybe our best, because we have some of the boys that joined us after we had come from South Africa for the pre-season. So, we are still trying to fuse them in with the rest of the other boys.”
Simba Bhora, one of the most prolific teams in the previous campaign, have not been productive in front of goal with only one goal to show in four starts.
Namibian Isakar Gurirab is the only player with his name on the scoresheet. This sad statistic is beginning to eat up Lupahla, ahead of the next fixture against unpredictable TelOne.
“We didn’t create chances (against Dynamos), maybe half chances. But at the end of the day, we have played four games, it’s a worry. It’s a concern that we have scored only one goal.
“It’s sad, especially for our travelling fans all the way from Shamva that they came, they never stopped supporting the team, and for them to go back with nothing on their hands, it’s really sad for us. It makes us sad.
“But we’re coming up next week versus TelOne, that are bubbling also in confidence, having beaten CAPS United. So, it’s not going to be an easy game.
“We are under pressure. We’re playing at home, we’re starting under pressure because we lost the game (against Dynamos). But at the end of the day, football has to be played.
“The competition is very difficult this season, there is no small team, you can see if TelOne can beat CAPS United, it shows that people are prepared. People have prepared their teams; we feel we have prepared well.
“It’s just a matter of time that we get the things going, but I’m very confident in my team, very confident in what we want to do, confident in what we can do,” said Lupahla.
Simba Bhora got their season underway with draws against FC Platinum and ZPC Kariba. They then edged Herentals 1-0 before Lupahla succumbed to his former club Dynamos, where he was Lloyd Chigowe’s preferred assistant between August 2024 and January this year.
“It was always going to be a difficult game, coming here versus Dynamos. I felt that the boys tried their best, but Dynamos were more motivated in the sense that, maybe I came from here last season. So, the motivation was always there, that they don’t want to lose to their former coach.
“But also, credit to them, I think they did very well, maybe more than us. I’m very confident with the team that we have, we are still trying to find ways on how we can finish off matches,” said Lupahla.
