BY FORTUNE MBELE
HIGHLANDERS coach Mandla Mpofu is thrilled at the return of Joel “Josta” Ngodzo to the Bulawayo football giants camp, saying the skillful midfielder will add a new dimension in his attack.
Mpofu wants to give other Premier Soccer League big guns competition and Ngodzo (31) is a player he can build his team around for that purpose.
“We are very excited that Ngodzo and Peter Muduhwa are back at the club. Josta is back and he will definitely bring a different dimension to the club. He is an experienced player. He is a team player and one can build his team around him. He is talented and it is good to have him back. Age is still on his side,” Mpofu said.
Highlanders also welcome back central defender Muduhwa whose six-month loan deal at Tanzanian side Simba SC was cut short and has since started training with the Bulawayo giants.
Highlanders have also signed Pritchard Mpelele, formerly with Manica Diamonds, former Chicken Inn and How Mine striker Toto Banda and leftback Crispen Ncube.
“All the other players that we have signed are not new to the game; they have been here before and will strengthen us. I am building a team that will compete against FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum and many others,” Mpofu said.
Highlanders earlier on brought in Winston Mhango, Lynnoth Chikuhwa, and Andrew Tandi and they still have two slots to fill.
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“There are two slots left. We need a goalkeeper and a striker and hopefully, by end of next week, we will be done with our recruitment,” he said.
Mpofu said if all goes well, the new players could take part in the Independence Trophy final against Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Ngodzo, a product of the once-vibrant Highlanders juniors system, had his career curtailed by injury when he was still a teenager, but resurfaced and joined the senior team in 2011.
After a season, he moved to FC Platinum and after three years, returned to his boyhood club Highlanders in 2014. But after a fallout with coaches, he packed his bags again to join Caps United in 2015.
He had a successful stint at the Green Machine and after a superb 2019 season in which he was crowned Soccer Star of the Year and joined Zambian side Buildcon, before retracing his roots back home.
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