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Peter Phiri Sports Correspondent
THERE is turmoil in the Zifa Southern Region Division One soccer team Rufaro Rovers’ camp after they were beaten 5-1 by ZPC Hwange over the weekend. The club’s executive is divided on whether to fire the technical department headed Dumisani Mafikeni or to give them another chance.Mafikeni who guided the club from Division Two is assisted by Misheck Ncube and Lazarus Sakala.
One of the executive members who spoke on condition of anonymity said all is not well within the club after they suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of neighbours ZPC Hwange.
‘‘Right now some members of the executive are saying the entire technical department should be fired. We cannot just fire before giving them another chance to see how they will fare. I am totally against the idea of firing the technical department. Mafikeni has been with us from Division Two and he is a good coach. He is working under very difficulty conditions. There are a number of issues which are affecting the team such as sponsorship,’’ he said.
He said the club lost a number of good players to clubs such as Technosphere and Hwange Under-20s after they were promised employment.
‘‘Our financial position is not healthy at all and the technical department cannot take the blame for these poor results. We have not been paying our players and they just play for the love of the game. So why blame the coach when there is nothing to motivate the players. It is not fair at all and these guys should be given a chance instead of just firing them without weighing the options. The executive should remember that we lost many good players to other clubs after they were promised employment,’’ he further said.
Rufaro Rovers are sitting third from the bottom with 10 points from 12 games and need to pull their socks before it is too late.
Meanwhile, Bulawayo Chiefs who parted ways with coach Thulani Sibanda, thrashed neighbours and ambitious side New West City 4-1 on Saturday.
Black Boots piled the pressure on the leaders by beating Mkosana 3-0 to stay in the hunt for promotion.
Results
Hwange U’ 20 1, Bantu Rovers 0; ZPC Hwange 5, Rufaro Rovers 1; Bulawayo Chiefs 4, New West City 1; Tsholotsho 1, Ntabazinduna 0; Black Boots 3, Mkosana 0; Quelaton 0, Mpumalanga 3; Technosphere 2, Zimbabwe Saints 0
Zifa Southern Region Division One Log standings
P W D L F A Pts
Byo Chiefs 12 10 1 1 22 5 31
Black Boots 12 7 4 1 20 8 25
ZPC Hwange 12 5 6 1 22 10 21
Technosphere 12 7 0 5 16 10 21
Quelaton 12 7 0 5 20 20 21
Tsholotsho 12 5 4 3 15 10 19
Bantu Rovers 12 6 1 5 13 11 19
Hwange U’20 12 4 4 4 12 12 16
Ajax Hotspurs 11 5 1 5 10 134 16
Zim Saints 12 4 3 5 15 15 15
New West 12 4 2 6 15 17 14
Mpumalanga 12 3 3 6 11 16 12
Mkosana 12 3 2 7 8 21 11
Rufaro Rovers 12 3 1 8 7 18 10
Ntabazinduna 12 3 2 7 6 12 9
Byo Jumbos 11 2 1 8 6 20 7
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