News / National
Title dream over for Highlanders
05 Sep 2017 at 06:31hrs | Views
HIGHLANDERS are now out of contention for the 2017 Castle Lager Premiership title following their home loss to Chapungu at Hartsfield Ground on Sunday that saw them dropping to ninth on the table, 19 points behind log leaders Chicken Inn.
Rahman Gumbo's Gamecocks lead the league table with 51 points after recording their 16th victory this season, a 2-1 win over How Mine at Hartsfield, while the stuttering Bosso fell 0-1 to Chapungu 24 hours later.
The win over Bosso took Chapungu to 29 points, four off the drop zone and just three points behind Highlanders, who are now probably grappling for a top eight finish.
Under fire coach Erol Akbay said talking of the championship now could be just a dream.
The Dutchman said Highlanders had better chances of winning the league title last year than this time around and blamed the club boardroom problems for the team's on-field troubles.
"I think this year it's over, no chance at all of winning the title. The only chance we had was last year. We had lots of points, so we had better chances of winning the league title, but this year, no, it's over for us. We have lots of problems for such things to happen — assistant coaches fired, players sold and as head coach you are in a wall; there is nothing you can do," said Akbay.
He blamed the Highlanders executive for lying to him that the club had money to buy quality strikers only to change in January and say there was no money to beef up the squad.
His allegations were shot down by Highlanders' acting chairman Modern Ngwenya.
Bosso now find themselves closer to the relegation bracket than they are to the championship matrix and Akbay says a solution needs to be found soon for that to end.
"We have to do something, play good football and hope that strikers score goals. Look if you play good football, it means you create chances and sometimes you need luck and we don't have that luck now," Akbay said.
Highlanders take on red hot Dynamos at Rufaro Stadium in their next league match and unless something dramatic happens between now and the weekend encounter, further misery looms for the Bulawayo giants.
While Bosso are licking their wounds, neighbours Chicken Inn are on course for their second league title in three years, while Dynamos are breathing heavily on their necks and sit in second place with 48 points. They also have two games in hand over the Gamecocks.
Perennial title campaigners FC Platinum chalked up a 1-0 away win over relegation threatened Hwange, while Ngezi Platinum Stars, suffered a 0-1 away loss to Shabanie Mine at Maglas Stadium.
There is a 10-point gap between fourth-placed Ngezi, whose coach Tonderayi Ndiraya tipped Dynamos to win the league title, and ZPC Kariba, who lost 2-3 to Bulawayo City in dramatic fashion on Saturday.
Rahman Gumbo's Gamecocks lead the league table with 51 points after recording their 16th victory this season, a 2-1 win over How Mine at Hartsfield, while the stuttering Bosso fell 0-1 to Chapungu 24 hours later.
The win over Bosso took Chapungu to 29 points, four off the drop zone and just three points behind Highlanders, who are now probably grappling for a top eight finish.
Under fire coach Erol Akbay said talking of the championship now could be just a dream.
The Dutchman said Highlanders had better chances of winning the league title last year than this time around and blamed the club boardroom problems for the team's on-field troubles.
"I think this year it's over, no chance at all of winning the title. The only chance we had was last year. We had lots of points, so we had better chances of winning the league title, but this year, no, it's over for us. We have lots of problems for such things to happen — assistant coaches fired, players sold and as head coach you are in a wall; there is nothing you can do," said Akbay.
He blamed the Highlanders executive for lying to him that the club had money to buy quality strikers only to change in January and say there was no money to beef up the squad.
His allegations were shot down by Highlanders' acting chairman Modern Ngwenya.
Bosso now find themselves closer to the relegation bracket than they are to the championship matrix and Akbay says a solution needs to be found soon for that to end.
"We have to do something, play good football and hope that strikers score goals. Look if you play good football, it means you create chances and sometimes you need luck and we don't have that luck now," Akbay said.
Highlanders take on red hot Dynamos at Rufaro Stadium in their next league match and unless something dramatic happens between now and the weekend encounter, further misery looms for the Bulawayo giants.
While Bosso are licking their wounds, neighbours Chicken Inn are on course for their second league title in three years, while Dynamos are breathing heavily on their necks and sit in second place with 48 points. They also have two games in hand over the Gamecocks.
Perennial title campaigners FC Platinum chalked up a 1-0 away win over relegation threatened Hwange, while Ngezi Platinum Stars, suffered a 0-1 away loss to Shabanie Mine at Maglas Stadium.
There is a 10-point gap between fourth-placed Ngezi, whose coach Tonderayi Ndiraya tipped Dynamos to win the league title, and ZPC Kariba, who lost 2-3 to Bulawayo City in dramatic fashion on Saturday.
Source - chronicle
