×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Herentals on the brink of glory

Sport
NORTHERN Region Division One side Herentals have said that the pain of missing out on promotion to the top-flight football league last season had spurred them to push harder this year.

NORTHERN Region Division One side Herentals have said that the pain of missing out on promotion to the top-flight football league last season had spurred them to push harder this year.

BY HENRY MHARA

Herentals are on the brink of winning the championship, whose reward is a ticket to the Premier Soccer League.

The club enjoys a 22-point lead at the top of the 18 team log standings, with seven matches left to play. They play second-placed Blue Swallows at the weekend, where a win would enough to seal a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League ticket.

But the coronation could arrive as early as tomorrow if Swallows fail to win their game in hand, against seventh-placed Cranborne Bullets. A draw in this match could also see Herentals crowned champions.

Club secretary-general, Kudakwashe Remba said their past failures as well as hard work and dedication by the whole team had pushed them this far.

“This is our third year in the division and in our first year we didn’t do well because we were newcomers. We had to learn a lot both in terms of the technical aspect and the players’ welfare. Last year we improved and we almost took the championship, but Black Rhinos just beat us to the title.

“We worked very hard and corrected our mistakes from the past. We used that experience from our painful failures and improved. In the previous seasons, we would start slow hoping to pick up the pace as we went, but the approach was different this time around. We treated each game from the first match of the season, as a final to win the championship. And that helped us a lot as we picked very important points,” he said.

The team finished second in the league last season, behind Black Rhinos who were promoted to the Premiership.

“We are happy with the support we are getting from the fans and the president of the club, Innocent Benza and our sponsor Herentals Group of Colleges and Schools through the support of the finance director, Patience Benza, hence, we are where we are at the moment. We believe in team work and we are working very hard to make sure we win the championship,” Remba said.

The team is captained by Blessing Majarira, whose outstanding performance in the side was rewarded with a national team call-up for the Cosafa Championships in July. Benza, who is also part of the playing personnel, and Denzel Chimwemwe have also been outstanding for them.