BY FORTUNE MBELE NGEZI Platinum Stars coach Benjani Mwaruwari has indicated that he will prioritise youthful players, adding that he was particularly impressed by the club’s developmental side where he has already promoted striker Tinotenda Musariranwa to the senior team.
It took only a few days before Mwaruwari landed in Mhondoro-Ngezi for him to identify Musariranwa and register him to play in the senior team ahead of the March 31 deadline for the transfer window.
And on his debut, Musariranwa did not disappoint, troubling the Bulawayo Chiefs’ defence in a league match at Luveve Stadium on Sunday.
His shot, six minutes before the final whistle was clumsily handled by the Ninjas goalkeeper Takabva Mawaya before an impressive Denver Mukamba pounced on the rebound to square up things and give Ngezi an away point.
Chiefs had scored in the first half through a penalty by Obriel Chirinda, who was brought down inside the box.
Mwaruwari, a former Manchester City striker, said he observed that there was one striker when he arrived in Ngezi, the reason he rushed to grab Musariranwa.
The next window is in January.
“What I noticed when I got there was there was only one striker. I watched the development side and it impressed me. This game is all about giving these young boys the opportunities. If anyone from the development side impresses me, I will not hesitate to give them a chance,” Mwaruwari said.
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“We were a goal down and it was difficult for a young boy (Musariranwa) to come in and he almost scored. Well done to him. So far, I am happy with the team, even if I wasn’t, there is nothing I can do, but let’s talk about the second half. I will be more than happy to finish the season with the squad.”
He says he is passionate and could not wait to start his coaching career in the country.
“It’s not necessarily being excited, but it is the passion. Of course, one is bound to be excited. It has been two years since I have been telling people that I am doing these coaching badges and eventually here I am now coaching,” Mwaruwari said.
“My aim when I arrived at Ngezi was to win this one (against Chiefs). Unfortunately, I did not win it, the other one is to win next week. Our target is to win all the remaining games,” he said.
Chiefs played their seventh game without a win on a day that coach Nilton Terroso arrived back from Europe before the game started and sat on the bench with his new assistant Thulani Sibanda following the sacking of Mark Mathe and Farai Tawachera.
Follow Fortunate on Twitter @fmbele
