Brito vows to end 31 match winless run

HIGHLANDERS coach Baltermar Brito has dismissed the 31-match winless streak that Bosso have endured outside Bulawayo as nothing more than a statistic and has vowed to bring it to an end when his team takes on Herentals, a side that has never beaten Bosso since its promotion to the premier league in 2018.

Saturday's league clash between Highlanders and Herentals is their sixth and Brito, who welcomed five players from injury, is confident that his side is closer to breaking the away duck.

Heading to Herentals, central defender Mbongeni Ndlovu, who limped off in the 0-0 draw against Tenax CS FC, the trio of Ray Lunga, Toto Banda and Archiford Faira, who were injured as well as striker Stanley Ngala, who missed the last match due to suspension, are available for selection.

Besides wanting to break the long-winless run outside Bulawayo, Bosso will be out to maintain their unbeaten record against Herentals.

In their first league meeting in 2018, Bosso beat Herentals 2-0 in Harare, won the reverse fixture 1-0 in Bulawayo, played to 0-0 and 1-1 draws in 2019, before clobbering The Students 4-0 in the first leg of the 2021/22 season.

While Highlanders head into the weekend encounter coming from an energy sapping goalless draw against Tenax, Herentals, who are on fifth position, a place above Bosso and a point ahead of the Bulawayo giants who are on 34 points in 23 outings, beat Bulawayo City 1-0.

Brito is aware of Highlanders' worrisome on- the-road-performance as well as the threats posed by their opponents.

"This 31-match winless streak out of Bulawayo is a statistic, a reference we have but in Porto we've one motto, even after hard times the day starts again. Even after dark night the day starts. It's a statistic, we're confident we will break soon.

"We've worked hard in the last two weeks to correct some details. We know that Herentals are not going to wait for us to attack, they will also come at us. They are a team that plays the ball and I'm sure the fans and the rest of the country will enjoy the show. We're going there hoping for maximum points," said Brito.

Highlanders' last league win outside Bulawayo was on July 22, 2018 when they edged Triangle United 1-0 at Gibbo Stadium.

This season Highlanders have played nine matches outside Bulawayo and lost four encounters to Black Rhinos (2-0), Manica Diamonds (1-0), Whawha (2-1) and 3-0 against FC Platinum via the board room after the PSL disciplinary committee awarded three points on a 3-0 score-line for their abandoned match. The April 23 game was abandoned with the score-line at 1-1.

Bosso have drawn five away matches which are 0-0 against Tenax CS FC, Caps United (1-1), Triangle United (0-0), ZPC Kariba (0-0) and Ngezi (1-1).

This means from a possible 27 points, Highlanders have managed five points, with Brito contributing one as he lost 2-1 to Whawha and drew 1-1 against Ngezi.