Sports / Soccer
Tsholotsho begin relegation fight
16 Aug 2016 at 07:06hrs | Views
TSHOLOTSHO FC coach Lizwe Sweswe believes winning six out of their 11 remaining Castle Lager Premier Soccer League matches will take them out of the drop zone. The Zhwane outfit suffered their 12th league defeat of the season on Saturday, going down 0-1 to Triangle at home.
Tsholotsho are second from the bottom with 13 points from 19 games and seem to be running out of steam as they have gone for five matches without a win.
They have three wins from 19 outings and four draws, and need to up their game to attain their target of at least 18 points out of a possible 33. Their last victory was on July 16 when they clobbered Hwange 3-0. The other two wins were identical 1-0 victories over Harare City and Bulawayo City.
"The championship and relegation races are wide open and it will be folly for anyone to term us relegation candidates. If we win six games from the remaining 11, we will be safe. There is nothing to panic about because what we just have to do is show character and fight hard so that we reach our target. It (winning six games out of 11) may seem difficult, but look, all the teams are inconsistent and we can capitalise on that," said Sweswe.
He said losing skipper William Stima to FC Platinum, defensive midfielder Butholezwe Ncube to Durban side AmaZulu and striker Simbarashe Gorogodyo to Dynamos had left leadership gaps in his team.
"Highlanders are struggling to replace Knox Mutizwa and Bruce Kangwa (who respectively left for South Africa's Bidvest Wits and Azam of Tanzania), who were vital to their squad and that is what we're going through at Tsholotsho. Stima could carry the team and motivate others, while Butho (Ncube) commanded the midfield very well. Those are the kind of leaders you need on the field and I'm hoping that the guys rise and show that they deserve to be in the PSL by winning the games I'm talking about," said Sweswe.
Tsholotsho are left with tricky encounters and Sweswe says every game will be like a final for his team.
They are away to Chicken Inn in their next game followed by a home encounter against ZPC Kariba, an away tie against How Mine and a home game against Border Strikers before visiting Dynamos in Harare.
They will return to play host to Harare City, take a road trip to Ngezi Platinum, play Chapungu at home and then face Highlanders.
The last two games of the season will be against Bulawayo City and FC Platinum.
Mutare City Rovers held leaders FC Platinum to a 1-1 draw at Mandava, to take home a valuable point that saw them stretching the gap between them and Tsholotsho from three to four points.
Table anchors Border Strikers were beaten 0-2 by Harare City, a week after posting a memorable 2-1 win over former champions Dynamos.
Results: Saturday: Ngezi Platinum Stars 0-2 How Mine, Harare City 2-0 Border Strikers, Tsholotsho FC 0-1 Triangle United, Chapungu 0-1 ZPC Kariba, FC Platinum 1-1 Mutare City Rovers
Sunday: Dynamos 1-1 Bulawayo City, Highlanders 1-1 Chicken Inn, Hwange 0-0 Caps United
Tsholotsho are second from the bottom with 13 points from 19 games and seem to be running out of steam as they have gone for five matches without a win.
They have three wins from 19 outings and four draws, and need to up their game to attain their target of at least 18 points out of a possible 33. Their last victory was on July 16 when they clobbered Hwange 3-0. The other two wins were identical 1-0 victories over Harare City and Bulawayo City.
"The championship and relegation races are wide open and it will be folly for anyone to term us relegation candidates. If we win six games from the remaining 11, we will be safe. There is nothing to panic about because what we just have to do is show character and fight hard so that we reach our target. It (winning six games out of 11) may seem difficult, but look, all the teams are inconsistent and we can capitalise on that," said Sweswe.
He said losing skipper William Stima to FC Platinum, defensive midfielder Butholezwe Ncube to Durban side AmaZulu and striker Simbarashe Gorogodyo to Dynamos had left leadership gaps in his team.
"Highlanders are struggling to replace Knox Mutizwa and Bruce Kangwa (who respectively left for South Africa's Bidvest Wits and Azam of Tanzania), who were vital to their squad and that is what we're going through at Tsholotsho. Stima could carry the team and motivate others, while Butho (Ncube) commanded the midfield very well. Those are the kind of leaders you need on the field and I'm hoping that the guys rise and show that they deserve to be in the PSL by winning the games I'm talking about," said Sweswe.
Tsholotsho are left with tricky encounters and Sweswe says every game will be like a final for his team.
They will return to play host to Harare City, take a road trip to Ngezi Platinum, play Chapungu at home and then face Highlanders.
The last two games of the season will be against Bulawayo City and FC Platinum.
Mutare City Rovers held leaders FC Platinum to a 1-1 draw at Mandava, to take home a valuable point that saw them stretching the gap between them and Tsholotsho from three to four points.
Table anchors Border Strikers were beaten 0-2 by Harare City, a week after posting a memorable 2-1 win over former champions Dynamos.
Results: Saturday: Ngezi Platinum Stars 0-2 How Mine, Harare City 2-0 Border Strikers, Tsholotsho FC 0-1 Triangle United, Chapungu 0-1 ZPC Kariba, FC Platinum 1-1 Mutare City Rovers
Sunday: Dynamos 1-1 Bulawayo City, Highlanders 1-1 Chicken Inn, Hwange 0-0 Caps United
Source - chronicle
