Chronicle Editor
Ronald Mashinga, Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS chairman Kenneth Mhlophe says he was pleased with the team’s performance and support from sponsors, stakeholders and fans during the just-ended 2019 season.
Bosso beat Dynamos 2-0 to win the Independence Cup in April and also beat Ngezi Platinum Stars 1-0 to lift the country’s premier knockout tournament, the Chibuku Super Cup.
Bosso also finished the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign in sixth place after enduring a tough start in the season during which they wallowed in the relegation zone for 23 matches.
Only the appointment of Dutch coach Hendrik Pieter de Jongh changed the team’s fortunes, as Bosso went on to record four wins, six draws and one loss in the league to finish the season in a respectable position.
Mandla “Lulu” Mpofu, who had been thrust into the hot seat when club legend Madinda Ndlovu suddenly quit to trek to Botswana, was retained alongside Bekithemba Ndlovu to assist the nomadic Dutchman, who was coaching in his 29th country.
When De Jongh took over, Bosso were struggling on 28 points from 23 games, but the Dutchman managed to instill some belief into the players, who duly responded by going on an unbeaten run that was only ended by a 1-0 loss to Bulawayo Chiefs in the second last game of the season.
Bosso won the Chibuku Super Cup without conceding a goal after edging rivals Dynamos 1-0 in the opening round followed by a 3-0 hammering of league champions FC Platinum, a 1-0 win over ZPC Kariba and 1-0 victory over Ngezi to hoist the trophy.
“I am proud of the team for managing to get up and fight a good fight that leaves us as 2019 Independence Cup and Chibuku Super Cup winners. Although we finished sixth on the log, the achievements leave us in line with our three-year plan pronounced at the beginning of the 2018 season,” Mhlophe told the club’s official website.
Under the three-year plan, the first year was dedicated to assembling a young squad and instilling Highlanders’ philosophy in terms of approach and style of play. The second year was meant to compete for silverware and Mhlophe felt that was achieved by winning the Chibuku Super Cup. Bosso aim to challenge for the league title in 2020 and return to continental club football after years in the wilderness.
“It is our hope as per our planning that 2020 will be even bigger. While the three-year plan was something worth pursuing, it remains a necessary short-term project, thus, the club’s future and vision should not be restricted to it,” Mhlophe said.
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