Wenslus Murape
Sports Reporter
JUST days after being sacked by Dynamos, Genesis Mangombe started his adventure as coach of ambitious Division One side Scottland with a hard-fought 1-0 win over a battling Zambezi Gas and Coal at the Heart Stadium yesterday.
Mangombe has returned to the terrain from where he led Yadah FC, who are a sister club of Scottland, into the domestic Premiership and his new employers will be hoping for a similar impact.
The coach told H-Metro, on the day he was unveiled as the new Scottland coach, that he was hoping to fall in love with coaching again after his love affair with the game was tested by the politics at the Glamour Boys.
He revealed that his spirits had been battered by the politics and boardroom battles at the Glamour Boys and was hoping for a new environment where he can coach without the burden of such challenges.
It wasn’t a spectacular arrival, in his first game in charge of the newboys, whose arrival in the ZIFA Northern Region Division One league has been felt by many of the usual contenders for the sole ticket into the top-flight league.
But, Mangombe will no doubt celebrate this victory as it kept Scottland among the leading sides in the league ahead of a blockbuster mid-week showdown against MWOS FC at Ngoni Stadium in Norton.
With MWOS and Black Rhinos having cancelled out each other in a goalless draw at the Heart Stadium B arena on Friday, pressure was on Mangombe to get a win and cut into the lead established by these two clubs.
On a day where all that mattered was the victory, King Nadolo’s first half goal made all the difference and provided a good return for a Scottland team who had been in camp since Friday.
Nadolo left Yadah to join the Division One side and is one of the veteran campaigners, with Premiership experience, which Scottland will be hoping can drag them into the top-flight league.
Ronald Pfumbidzai, Lincoln Zvasiya, Denver Mukamba, Leeroy Mavunga and Allen Gahadzikwa have all joined Scottland.
Pfumbidzai, who spent years playing in South Africa, was a surprise addition but, with his team collecting four points in their two games since his arrival, he will be happy with how things are unfolding.
The huge test for Scottland will come this week when they invade Ngoni Stadium where MWOS fans really feel they have an excellent chance of winning promotion this season.
Online Reporter