Mutasa plots Mabvuku side’s downfall

Lawrence Moyo

NORTHERN Region Soccer League leaders, MWOS are under pressure to win their eagerly awaited top-of-the-table clash against Scottland at the Ngoni Stadium in Norton this afternoon.

MWOS coach Lloyd “Samaita” Mutasa said they cannot afford to give Scottland more than three points as head-to-head results tend to decide tough championship battles in many leagues worldwide.

Scottland inflicted MWOS with their first defeat of the season, winning 2-1 at the Heart Stadium on the second week of the campaign and will be hoping to become the first team to complete a double over the Norton heavyweights.

Mutasa, who celebrated his 57th birthday yesterday, says they have their work cut out.

“If you are to win a championship, your results against your main rivals must be superior and already we go into the match aware that we lost the away fixture 2-1.

“As such we cannot afford to drop points at home against them because four points or six from us will be to our disadvantage big time.

“That is why we could not afford to lose against Black Rhinos last week. We could not afford to give them three points and against Scottland we cannot afford to lose. Even a draw is not good when you look at the bigger picture.

“What is even worse is to lose the match because that will see us drop from top to fourth place because it is very tight at the top. Even a draw will see us off the top position depending on how Harare City and Black Rhinos perform,” said Mutasa.

In today’s match, MWOS come up against a much stronger Scottland side after they recruited experienced players during the mid-season transfer window.

Among the new signings are Ronald Pfumbidzai, Leeroy Mavhunga and King Nadolo who have been in tougher leagues over the years.

Scottland are also now under the guidance of former Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe, who was Warriors assistant coach last year.

However, Mutasa feels MWOS are equally strong both on the field and technical bench.

Mutasa was also once a Dynamos coach and national team assistant coach, while the squad has captain Chris Samakwere who played abroad before.

“Indeed they have improved their squad and Mangombe is a very good coach, but we are in a race.

“At this stage i am not really worried by those things because we have more or less the same attributes. So it is down to what happens on the field on the day.

“We have to focus on the job at hand and not worry about the strengths of squads as nothing can be done at this stage.”

Results

Yesterday: DZ Royal 1-2 Trojan; Cranborne 1-0 Eagles

Today: Harare City v Agama (Callies); Chinhoyi Stars v CCLEE Mhangura (Chinhoyi); MWOS v Scottland (Ngoni Stadium), Karoi United v Black Mambas (Chikangwe); PAM FC v Herentals U-20 (Muriel Mine); Zambezi G & C v Banket United (Pfura); Ngezi U-19 v Black Rhinos (Baobab)

Northern Region Latest Standings

P W D L F A Pts

MWOS 21 13 5 3 34 11 44

Black Rhinos 21 12 7 2 27 14 43

Harare City 21 12 6 3 30 11 42

Scottland 21 13 3 5 25 12 42

Golden Eagles 22 9 10 3 25 13 37

Agama 21 9 9 3 27 19 36

Herentals U-20 21 9 7 5 28 20 34

Cranb/Bullets 22 7 9 6 19 18 30

PAM 21 7 8 6 16 17 29

Shamva Mine 21 6 7 8 16 25 25