DESPITE the euphoria that usually comes with matches pitting the country’s biggest clubs Highlanders and Dynamos, the Bulawayo giants’ coach Madinda Ndlovu said the ZNA Commander’s Charity Shield final tomorrow at the National Sports Stadium is just a practice match.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
With the 2018 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League starting on March 10, the two clubs will continue to test their strengths tomorrow after Highlanders beat Chicken Inn in the semi-final while Dynamos also accounted for Caps United.
“It’s a training game just like the other game that we have played. Not to say the competition is not important, but the approach is to try and work on certain aspects of the team that we need to strengthen and it’s also a game that will give us an opportunity to assess some of the players that didn’t play against Chicken Inn,” Ndlovu said.
Madinda was, however, quick to point out that Highlanders and Dynamos matches were big duels and he would be looking to win the game even though he was more focused on building a team for the new season.
“We want to win it. Competition has got that vibe, that spirit of wanting to be a winner all the time but let’s not read too much along those lines because there is a bigger picture that we are a club which is bringing back the glory days to the club and we don’t have to do it haphazardly.”
Ndlovu said the electrifying ambiance that characterises their matches with DeMbare would prevail at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow, but his focus was on building a team that would compete in the league.
“It being a Dynamos versus Highlanders match there will be that spark and vibe. The players will be self-motivated. We are going to treat it with that kind of spirit, but I am not putting my players under any pressure to break a leg over a charity match. We will ask them to do like what they did in the game against Chicken Inn. One or two things can be said about how the boys played against Chicken Inn, but it’s nothing that can make us too excited. We were just trying to put pieces together,” he said.
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Striker Newman Sianchali is likely to feature for Highlanders with Thabo Lunga, Godfrey Makaruse, Ray Lunga and Ozias Zibande upfront with the exciting Nigel Makumbe and Adrian Silla behind the strikers while right-back MacClive Phiri, who terrorised Chicken Inn on the wing, is also available with seniors Peter Muduhwa, Honest Moyo and Charlton Siamalonga in defence.
