Yabo targets DeMbare

Langton Nyakwenda, Sports Reporter

AFTER standing toe-to-toe against last season’s champions FC Platinum and runners up Chicken Inn, during a taxing two weeks of intensive football, charismatic Cranborne Bullets coach Nesbert “Yabo” Saruchera, is now targeting another Premiership giant.

The soldiers host Dynamos at their adopted home ground Nyamhunga on Saturday with relegation thoughts lingering on their minds.

Bullets are second from bottom with 18 points going into the last 14 rounds of the 2023 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.

Not only are they battling against relegation, Saruchera’s charges are also faced with a number of challenges including travelling costs and fatigue.

As Cranborne Bullets travel 366km to play their home games at Nyamhunga, they miss “a day or two” of training because of the travel schedules and their players are prone to fatigue.

The soldiers have now played seven matches in Kariba.

However, Saruchera thinks his side is showing some signs of improvement, especially after watching his boys hold defending champions FC Platinum and last season’s runners up Chicken Inn in the last two rounds.

“Travelling is affecting our performance but I would like to believe that in the second round we managed to collect some points against the so-called big teams.

“This is a big motivation on our side,” Saruchera told Zimpapers Sports Hub.

Despite losing key players Eric “Cantona” Manokore and Tadiwa Chibunyu during the midseason transfer window, Saruchera is confident his team will survive the chop.

That mission starts on Saturday with a huge task against Dynamos who are unbeaten in their last four matches.

“Dynamos are a big team and we respect them but we are not afraid of them. We lost some key players during the window but we are still a good side and we are ready for the big task at hand.”

Manokore and Chibunyu are now at CAPS United and Chicken Inn respectively but their absence has not stopped Bullets from playing their neat passing game.

DeMbare replaced head coach Herbert Maruwa with his assistant Genesis “Kaka” Mangombe and the latter has been in charge of two league games, winning one and drawing one.

Mangombe and Saruchera have clear targets.

The former has to win the league championship while the latter has to survive relegation.

“Definitely, we are going to survive the chop, we are fighters,” declared Saruchera.

But, fatigue could work against his soldiers.

“It’s not easy to manage fatigue because we are always on the road,” lamented Saruchera.

“As a result, we miss a day or two of training every week. However, we will soldier on.”

The reverse league fixture between Cranborne Bullets and Dynamos ended goalless at the National Sports on April 10.

The two sides have met three times in the top flight, since Cranborne Bullets’ promotion in 2021.

Interestingly, they have one win apiece.