Bosso invade Mandava for Herentals tie

BULAWAYO football giants Highlanders will be hoping to continue with their juggernaut when they invade Zvishavane's Mandava Stadium for this afternoon's date against Herentals in a Premier Soccer League fixture.

After 14 rounds of play, the Ariel Sibanda captained black and white ship is yet to taste defeat, a development which their coach, Baltemar José de Oliveira Brito hopes will continue with The Students being their latest victims.

"Our preparations for this match went well. All along we have been trying to create our own identity of playing football. However, it's unfortunate that we know little about Herentals and as such we will introduce new dynamics. We have little information about Herentals. We expect a very difficult match.

We are happy that we will be playing on good turf. The grass at Mandava Stadium is very good," said Brito.

Bosso are in a buoyant mood after having edged the Thulani "Thuts" Sbanda mentored Triangle United 1-0 courtesy of a breath taking Andrew "Tower" Mbeba's wonder strike that dribbled into the hearts of many local enthusiasts. Just like his mentor, the towering Mbeba predicted a difficult match.

"While I hope to continue doing well for Highlanders, I think the Herentals game will be a tough one. We need a lot of support from our fans and I pray that I will continue to score and assist my teammates," said Mbeba a Mzilikazi bred former Zimbabwe youth international who enjoys a good combination play with Bosso's first and second vice captains Peter Muduhwa and Mbongeni Ndlovu in defence.

Bosso are in great form and in their last five games, they have won three matches and drew two.  This means from a possible 15 points, Amahlolanyama have managed to amass 11 points, a development that points to a 73 percent success rate.

Herentals  are coming from  an away 0-2 triumph over army side Cranborne Bullets. Their form guide reads two wins, one draw and two losses.  As such, from a possible 15 points from five outings they have managed to collect seven points. This speaks to a worrying 47 percent success rate.

Last season, in their first leg match that was played at Barbourfields Stadium, Bosso handed the Students a massive football lesson by thumping them 4-0. The second leg ended in a one all  stalemate.

Today's clash between the two sides will be their seventh meeting.  Bosso go into this afternoon's match after having accounted for Herentals three times with the other three matches ending in draws.

In other matches that will also be played today, bruised Triangle will welcome Premier Soccer League newbies Sheasham who are now under the tutelage of Lizwe Sweswe. Black Rhinos will play host to Nation Dube coached Hwange at Gweru's Bata Stadium

Meanwhile, after having turned out for the world's most acclaimed football team, Brazil, Brito, (71), has just like the band of ex-Warriors players seen it fit to congratulate Zimbabwe for bouncing back into the FIFA family.

FIFA suspended Zimbabwe in February 2022, citing government interference in the running of the country's football association. The suspension came after the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) dissolved the ZIFA executive, led by Felton Kamambo, for alleged maladministration.

"Football is business and its congratulations to Zimbabwe, congratulations to the people who will be running football in this country. We are now headed for exciting times. Football is business and I'm very much happy for the players who will now be able to market themselves by playing international football. With the ban, it was not going to be easy for them to market themselves," said Brito.

Today's Fixtures
Triangle v Bulawayo Chiefs (Gibbo), Black Rhinos v Hwange (Bata), Herentals v Highlanders (Mandava)