Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
AFTER evading relegation on the final day of the season last year, probably their worst ever ending to a league season, Mutare Castle Lager Premiership outfit, Manica Diamonds, are enduring their worst ever start to the top-flight league season.
After four rounds of league matches, Manica Diamonds are, not only yet to get a point, but score a single goal – itself a clear indication of the impotence within the so-called Gem Boys rank and file.
The Tafadzwa Mashiri-coached team opened their 2026 account with a defeat against Simba Bhora by a solitary goal, before suffering a 0-2 defeat at the hands of FC Platinum away at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane.
The Mutare diamond miners went on to lose 0-3 to champions, Scottland, before being thumped 2-0 by ZPC Kariba.
Never before have Manica Diamonds failed to collect a single point from more than 360 minutes of play in the opening fixtures since their debut Premiership appearance in 2019.
Manica Diamonds head coach, Tafadzwa Mashiri, conceded that the club had a poor start to the season, pointing out at the teams’ defensive weaknesses.
“We had a very poor start to the season. It is a very difficult phase that we are going through. The season has been tough. Our greatest undoing has been the team’s defence because we are conceding in every match that we have played. In football if you do not concede you will definitely get a result. That should be our approach going forward as we prepare for the next encounter against Chicken Inn,” he said.
While last season Manica Diamonds disappointed their supporters when they crumbled like a deck of cards towards the dying stages of a number of matches, in the four matches played so far, the club has been conceding early goals.
“The immediate attention is to build a strong defensive structure. This will even propel other departments to function well. The main problem has been our failure to manage key moments of the game. We are conceding early into the match and it affects the whole game plan because now you will be chasing the game. The team won’t be in control of the game. We are not giving ourselves a chance to positively influence the flow and tempo of the match in our favour,” said Mashiri.
In a post-match interview with the media in Kariba, Mashiri did not hide his frustration after the final whistle – pointing to a lapse in concentration during the opening exchanges.
“It is disappointing, to say the least. We felt we had prepared well enough to get a result, but we failed to manage the game and conceded far too early. Once you are exposed like that, you give the opponent the upper hand. It is never easy to come back from that, but we must look to redeem ourselves in the next fixture,” he said.
As the season unfolds and Manica Diamonds faces Chicken Inn at GreenFuel Arena in their next match after this weekend’s break, Mashiri is naturally worried that he could be guiding the club on its way back to Division One.
Asked whether the current trend of results signals another fight to avoid relegation, Mashiri said: “Obviously, I am worried. But there is a very good chance to turn things around.”
When Manica Diamonds appointed Tafadzwa Mashiri as head coach, I rushed to predict that he will be the first coach in league to be shown the exit. I still stand by that prediction.