Highlanders Football Club will soon engage the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to have unruly football fans banished from attending their matches following the ugly incidents that rocked Barbourfields Stadium after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Shooting Stars on Sunday.
Club chairman Themba Ndlela said this was resolved subsequent to a meeting held on Monday night.
He however reiterated secretary Andrew Tapela’s assertion that the Monday evening meeting was not a special meeting, but a regular one to review the weekend match.
Ndlela said the fans who were arrested on Sunday were not Highlanders’ supporters but hooligans who should face up to their actions.
The fans ran amok after the weekend draw and destroyed property which included damaging the team’s bus and smashing the back windscreen of team manager Jerry Sibanda’s car.
“It is something that concerns us very much. These are not Highlanders supporters, but they are elements that are bent on destroying the image of the club.
“Look now, we no longer have a bus, we have to hire a bus to travel and have to import a window for the bus. We have to pay a fine for the incident when we played Motor Action. These people are not supporters of Highlanders. They are unruly components and we are really concerned. We will be engaging the PSL to ensure they are banned from football and those that were arrested on that day and are convicted should face the music,” Ndlela said.
On Bosso’s deteriorating performance — which has seen the Bulawayo team winning a single match in eight outings — Ndlela said there was no crisis at the club.
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“There is no crisis at the club. You cannot win all the games all the time. Platinum had five draws in a row, Motor Action are now losing their matches, can that be a crisis?
“It happens in football. There was nothing special about yesterday’s meeting, we always hold meetings to review our games,” Ndlela said.
The Highlanders’ boss dispelled claims that there was a technical reshuffle at the club saying the team was introducing young players from the juniors which will see coaches assisting each other in that regard. Assistant coach Mark Mathe watched the Shooting Stars match from the terraces while juniors’ coach Dumaza Dube and goalkeepers’ coach Tembo Chuma assisted head coach Mkhuphali “Mr Cooper” Masuku.
“We are bringing in some of our juniors and infusing them into the team.
“There are no structural changes in terms of the technical team and the assistant coaches will be helping each other and interfacing even in the juniors,” Ndlela said.
During the Shooting Stars match, Highlanders fielded young players who included Xolani Ncube, Tendai Ndlovu, Knox Mutizwa, Honest Moyo and Warren Dube, who was acquired from Division One side New West City.
Although ruing several chances missed, Mr Cooper commended the young players after the match and said they would be featuring more in the upcoming games.
Highlanders have a daunting task on Sunday as they travel to Harare for a date with wounded Dynamos, who lost 1-0 to Masvingo United at Mucheke Stadium at the weekend.
