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Bruce Chikuni-Sports Reporter
WHEN the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League burst into life, few would have installed Simba Bhora among the title contenders.
After all, the Shamva outfit had been involved in the relegation dogfight the previous season.
Resultantly many would never have thought that Simba Bhora’s title chase for this campaign could be as serious as leading the pack at the resumption of the second half of the championship marathon.
But Tonderai Ndiraya’s men have edged ahead of serial champions FC Platinum and enjoy a point advantage over the Zvishavane miners.
On Saturday, Simba Bhora face ailing giants Dynamos for the first time as the log leaders and this coming after DeMbare’s city rivals CAPS United helped their cause with a 1-0 triumph over FC Platinum.
The potentially explosive encounter is scheduled for Barbourfields on Saturday and no doubt, much will be expected from Simba Bhora’s talismanic captain Walter Musona.
Musona has underlined the importance of Simba’s title ambitions by leading from the front and is one of a few players in the domestic league to score a goal against each of the Premiership’s traditional Big Three — CAPS United, Dynamos and Highlanders in the same season.
Should they complete a double over Dynamos on Saturday, Simba Bhora would have sent another strong message of intent.
Musona said they are in good spirits to cause another upset to the Glamour Boys.
“We are in good shape. The truth is that we still have a long way to go if we are entertaining any thoughts of winning the championship,” said Musona.
“It takes patience, hard work, and dedication for us to hold onto this marathon and it is too early to rule out any team but we just have to stay in our lane.
“The focus has to be on the prize, we have to forget what others are doing and aim to collect as many wins as possible.”
The ex-Polokwane City and FC Platinum forward refused to take credit for Simba Bhora’s fine run.
“Some might see it as individual brilliance but everything has been about teamwork since the first day I arrived at this club and I also want to thank our coach who has helped each one of us to possess fighting spirit.
“We are taking each game as it comes and Dynamos know how important this game is to us and we are going to give our best fight to get maximum points.
“I will be more than happy to score against DeMbare because it will increase my tally for this campaign and a victory will be sweet to everyone associated with this brand.
“This is the perfect time for everyone at Simba Bhora to rise and shine.
“What we have done in our last 22 games doesn’t matter anymore, our season is starting this weekend and to us, it’s now or never,” Musona said.
Simba Bhora, however, faces a tough task in their bid to win the title in their last 12 assignments, given the tight contest ahead.
The man in charge of the ship, Ndiraya, was also famous for having interesting phases about him spending too much during the off season, none of them sounded positive. There was also a time in the early stages of the season when he was labelled a dead man walking as he was struggling to connect the dots.
But, once his side found their rhythm, Ndiraya’s men have been bossing their opponents at Wadzanai and away.
They have been particularly imperious in Shamva where they are unbeaten at Wadzanai since the venue was opened to Premiership football at the start of this year.
And Musona has been central to that dominance.
He netted the solitary goal when Simba Bhora humbled DeMbare 1-0 at Wadzanai.
Musona, with eight goals so far this year, was the hero when his side edged Makepekepe 2-1 at Rufaro and the skilful forward also struck when Simba Bhora floored Highlanders 2-1 at their fortress.
He appears to be a man on a mission to win his second silverware in three seasons as he also powered FC Platinum to their fourth title, two seasons ago.
Tymon Machope is also the man who seems to have understood the assignment as he is leading the team’s scoring charts with nine goals.
There were indications yesterday that club owner Simba Ndoro is planning to double the incentives for his players to inspire them to a win over Dynamos.
Online Reporter