By Kevin Mapasure
TRIANGLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 0
HIGHLANDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
NEVER mind that Highlanders have not won a single game away from home this season, what should be worrying them is that on the road so far this term they have only managed just a single goal.
This probably sums up how poor they have been on the road. And in this league, the away record counts for much, if a team is to stake a claim for the Castle Lager Premier League title.
Yesterday presented another opportunity for the Bulawayo giants to finally take all three points on the road, but faced with a tough Triangle side, they only managed to nick a single.
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Triangle themselves, sitting fourth on the table, fancied their chances and dropping points at home for the first time this season was disappointing.
For both sets of coaches, it was a case of two dropped points rather than a gained one. It was a game that had its fair share of chances, but in the end, didn’t offer as much entertainment as what might have been envisaged by the fans.
For Bosso, it was a double blow, with the withdrawal of the inform Nqobizitha Masuku through injury just after the break. The technical team and fans alike will be waiting to discover the extent of his injury, especially with important matches coming up.
Bosso’s only goal away from Barbourfields Stadium came against Caps United, with Masuku producing a moment of brilliance from a dead ball situation. They needed that sort of spark in yesterday’s contest but had no one to provide it.
“There is always a saying that a point on the road is better but I must say today we lost two points. The intent was obvious because within a minute we forced a save and got a corner,” Highlanders coach Mandla Mpofu observed.
“We really wanted three points. It’s not easy coming here to get clear chances that we could have converted. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the win, but we still have that good run of give game without defeat and I think it will help us going forward we are getting that confidence back and I am happy with the performance. We still keep the ball well and I am happy about that.”
Triangle coach Jairos Tapera felt that his side had dropped two points, but said a draw was a fair reflection of what transpired in the match.
“(The result was) not good for us. As the home team, we expected to win, we have been winning at home and we expected to win again today. But in the end, it was a fair result considering that Highlanders have been together much longer than us,” Tapera said.
“Thumbs up to my players, they are doing well. Highlanders played well especially in the first half, but the attempts at goal were minimal. They couldn’t penetrate us, we could have got a goal in the second half, but it was fair in the end that we shared points. I have group of youngsters and they listen to me and they try to learn, which is good.”
Highlanders felt they should have been awarded a penalty towards the end of the match while Triangle were left kicking themselves after striker Donald Ngoma missed a glorious opportunity in the last minute of the game.
With yesterday’s result, Triangle remained three points adrift of leaders Chicken Inn who have 23 points while Highlanders are 10 points off the top.
Highlanders are, however, on a five-match unbeaten run as they try to play catch up against the leading pack.
They recently added Joel Luphahla to their technical team after an indifferent start to the campaign.
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