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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
IT’S been a gripping season so far, at least on the field of play.
The Castle Lager Premiership football marathon has hit the half-way mark and there has been a lot to write home on.
Just witnessing the game being played again is something to celebrate for stakeholders and fans who had been starved of action for over 18 months, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And the pandemic has taken a huge chunk of glitter off the often exciting Castle Lager Premier Soccer League contests, too.
Fans seem to have lost interest in the local game. And no one can really blame them.
The pandemic was so cruel. Some lost their revenue streams while others lost their jobs.
Others grew too addicted to foreign leagues owing to the time they spent watching European football on television while local action was in the cold.
The local game has never been like this and might never be the same again. So bad was the situation big clubs averaged around 2 000 paying fans per game.
The biggest crowd that has been witnessed in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League game this term was at Barbourfields last month when Dynamos played Highlanders in a game that ended prematurely due to crowd trouble.
Last Sunday’s derby between CAPS United and Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium attracted just about 8 000 spectators.
The Harare Derby, barring form by either of the giants, has never been so poorly attended. Maybe everything will change as people get accustomed to the new normal.
Sponsors have deserted clubs and one of the three traditional giants CAPS United are actually teetering towards collapse due to financial problems.
Makepekepe, Highlanders and Black Rhinos lost sponsors NetOne in 2020 as the telecommunications company cited constraints brought about by Covid-19.
While Black Rhinos and Bosso found a way to get other corporate partners, the Green Machine simply lacked the goodwill to attract sponsors and the giants are struggling in intensive care.
They have performed dismally in the league too with just a single point separating them from the club occupying the last relegation slot.
Makepekepe are placed 12th on the 18-team log with just 17 points from 17 outings while Cranborne Bullets who occupy the last demotion place have 16 points to their name.
CAPS United are so poor, they are 18 points adrift of leaders Chicken Inn who themselves have not been that consistent, in picking up points, so far.
The Harare giants have conceded 25 goals while finding the target just 17 times. Their defence is only better than that of minnows Tenax, who have shipped in 30 goals, and log anchors Whawha, who have been breached 34 times.
In contrast, cross town rivals Dynamos have shown they are keen to compete for the big one after picking 34 points, just one behind Chicken Inn with their ill-fated game against Highlanders yet to be determined.
Champions FC Platinum started slowly after they parted ways with their old horses including Rodwell Chinyengetere, Kelvin Madzongwe, Rahman Kutsanzira and Silas Songani but Norman Mapeza is showing why he continues to be rated among the best with some steady progress.
The Zvishavane team are third on the log with 31 points to their name with midfielder Walter Musona showing brilliance ever since he re-joined from some stints in South Africa.
It also appears youthful forward Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya has also begun to blossom under Mapeza’s tutelage with seven goals and four assists to his name.
Ngezi Platinum, now under former Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwaru, have been erratic but they remain one of the contenders on 25 points, the same as Bulawayo Chiefs. But it is Manica Diamonds, Triangle and Black Rhinos who have proved their mettle so far in the top half. Although Manica Diamonds started the race like a house on fire, leading the pack before fizzling a bit, they remain in good space to fight for the honours.
The Mutare-based side sit fourth on the table with 29 points while Black Rhinos are sixth with 26 points.
But, it is Triangle who have written an intriguing piece out of the lot.
They lost almost the entire team in December last year including the technical team led by Taurai Mangwiro and his assistant Tafadzwa Mashiri.
The Lowveld side sought to rebuild with new coach Jairos Tapera having to start from scratch, literally.
With only Gerald Bhero, Arnold Chivheya and Jameson Mukombwe to provide him with institutional memory of the club, Tapera has worked magic.
He recruited about 19 new players including goalkeeper Geoffrey Chitsumba, who was the third choice at Dynamos, Tawanda Chisi, who hardly made the team at Black Rhinos, and several green horns.
But, to his credit, Tapera has established a solid team that is sitting fifth on the log with 28 points to their name.
He is arguably the best coach in the Premiership right now given the circumstances he has had to work under and what he has achieved so far.
There have been several players who have stood out, of course.
Teenage Dynamos winger Bill Antonio has defied his age, becoming a key figure for the Glamour Boys, scoring and assisting in several games that DeMbare have won.
Top-scorer and Chicken Inn forward Brian Muza has been consistent while Nyasha Chintuli of Manica Diamonds, William Manondo of CAPS United, Highlanders’ Nqobizitha Masuku and Divine Mhindirira, Herentals’ Prince Chama and Black Rhinos’ Farai Banda have been shining for their clubs.
But, the first half of the season, without any doubt belonged to Dynamos goalkeeper Taimon Mvula.
The 28-year-old has been the shining beacon in a league that is lacking super stars.
Mvula is the only player at Dynamos who has played all the 17 games and remarkably, he has let in just six goals, the best performance by a goalkeeper in years.
Coach Tonderai Ndiraya has rotated his defence often this season with Emmanuel Jalai, Godknows Murwira, Frank Makarati, Partson Jaure, Brendon Mpofu, Sylvester Appiah and Tino Muringai all having been given a part.
But Mvula has been the wall between the posts for Ndiraya’s side and he has been the league’s best performer, by a country mile this half season.
The former Hwange goalkeeper leads the line-up of the best XI picked by The Herald for the first half of the season.
Consistency has been an issue with most of the players but the others that find themselves on the list include his teammate Frank Makarati, Polite Moyo of Ngezi Platinum, and Chicken Inn’s newboy Itai Mabhunu making the defence. FC Platinum’s Kelvin Mangiza is part of the 3-5-2 formation that includes Bosso’s Masuku, Antonio, Donald Ngoma, Manondo, Chicken Inn’s find of the season Brian Muza and Chintuli of Manica Diamonds.
Online Reporter