Luphahla gunning for maximum points against MWOS

Alberto Chamwadoro

FC Platinum coach Joel Luphahla is setting his sights on securing a victory against MWOS in this afternoon’s Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane.

Despite his ambitious stance, Luphahla emphasised his respect for MWOS, particularly praising veteran coach Lloyd Mutasa and the team’s disciplined performance.

The Zvishavane-based side has accumulated 10 points from seven matches, courtesy of two wins, one loss, and four draws. Luphahla is optimistic about turning their season around with a string of positive results.

Last week, MWOS narrowly defeated Simba Bhora 1-0, while FC Platinum drew 1-1 with Dynamos.

“We don’t read too much into previous results — theirs or ours from the weekend,” Luphahla said.
“But we are playing at home, in front of our passionate fans, and we need to make sure we collect the full three points.

“No disrespect to MWOS. They’re an amazing team with an experienced coach, who also once coached here at FC Platinum. So, it’s going to be an intriguing game, but we need to get back to winning ways.

“We tried everything in Harare to win the match. With a bit more calmness and sharpness in front of goal, it’s a game we could have won. Unfortunately, we came away with a point, which on the road is still decent. But we seem to be drawing too many matches and we want to put together a good run of wins to close the gap on the leading teams.

“At the moment it’s win-draw, win-draw, which isn’t good enough. The players know it, the technical staff knows it — we need to improve. With the quality we have, we shouldn’t be struggling for wins. Right now, we’re just not hitting our groove.

“We’re working hard and staying as calm as we can so we can string together two or three wins. That will lift the players’ confidence and once we build that, you could see on Sunday that this team plays good football. We just need to stay calm, avoid putting ourselves under pressure, but also remember our mandate: we need to start winning and stay close to the teams at the top.”