PSL big 3 roar

By The Standard and Newsday | Mar. 15, 2022 | 3 Min read

With Caps United the biggest losers after they were hammered 6-2 by Manica Diamonds in Mutare and Dynamos falling to Chicken Inn 1-0 at home while Highlanders were also dismissed by the same scoreline by neighbours Bulawayo City, it appeared their fate was sealed.

BY FORTUNE MBELE AFTER a sluggish start to the campaign in which the big three — Highlanders, Caps United and Dynamos —seemingly struggled for fluency, it was difficult to imagine they would turn the corner.

The talk that the big thre could face relegation gained impetus, especially after they all lost their week five matches on February 27.

But the past two weekends have changed the complexion of the game, apparently shifting the balance of power as the league marathon begins to take shape with the Green Machine crashing lowly WhaWha 6-2 at home as if to atone for the heavy defeat to Manica Diamonds. Crucially, it was their first victory in six outings while Dynamos travelled to the City of Kings and Queens where they shook off their bad spell against Bulawayo Chiefs, dismissing the Ninjas 2-0 at Barbourfields (BF) Stadium.

Bosso though still lagged behind as they were held to a goalless draw by Tenax in Mutare.

However, last weekend they all provided convincing cases of their title credentials with Highlanders running riot at BF on Sunday to comprehensively win 4-0 over Herentals, their second win of the season in seven games. They have only scored in two games, the other being a win over WhaWha in which skipper Nqobzitha Masuku netted a brace.

Masuku was on target again on Sunday with the other goals coming from Bukhosi Sibanda, Adrian Silla and substitute Lynoth Chikuhwa.

After the game, Highlanders coach Mpofu said: “It was always coming but this is not our time, it is God’s time. I am happy that today (Sunday) they managed to get those goals. This I guess can be a motivator going forward; that is my hope and prayer. It was a catch-up game. We should try and win our games, especially at BF. We should make BF a fortress. If we can grind something as we go to Caps United, I will be happy,” Mpofu said.

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Highlanders rose from the relegation zone to position 11 after the victory.

Caps United carried over from their victory over Hwahwa to edge Bulawayo City 1-0 courtesy of veteran striker William Manondo. Although the Green Machine coach Lloyd Chitembwe might not have been satisfied with the overall performance, he was happy that at least they collected maximum points.

“We were not as fluid as we normally are but at the end of the day what matters most is the result, so I am very happy with it. Our strength is in the unity within the group as well as the spirit. I want to congratulate the boys in terms of their application. I think technically they were up to that level although we did not move the ball as quickly as we would have wanted especially in the first half,” he said.

The victory pushed Caps United to position eight on the log table.

Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya was also happy with the way his lads went about their business in a 3-1 win over Tenax at the National Sports Stadium. He singled out teenager Bill Antonio, who provided three assists for Martin Ofori, Emmanuel Paga and Ralph Kawondera, who were on target for the Glamour Boys.

The victory lifted Dynamos to third position with 13 points from seven matches. They trail log leaders Manica Diamonds and Chicken Inn by three points.

Weekend results Saturday:ZPC Kariba 0-0 Bulawayo Chiefs, Harare City 0-0 Chicken Inn, Black Rhinos 0-0 FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum 3-1 Cranborne Bullets, Bulawayo City 0-1 Caps United

Sunday: Whawha 1-0 Yadah, Manica Diamonds 2-1 Triangle United, Dynamos 3-1 Tenax, Highlanders 4-0 Herentals