HIGHLANDERS dedicated their Chibuku Super Cup Round of 16 victory over Chicken Inn to head coach Benjani Mwaruwari, who was hospitalised after falling ill and could not be available for Sunday match at Barbourfields Stadium.
Bosso beat their city rivals 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a goalless deadlock in regulation time to book their place in the quarter-finals, with assistant coach Mkhokheli Dube revealing after the match that the team had visited Mwaruwari in hospital in the morning.
Dube presided in the match.
He said the players were determined to secure victory for their coach and wished him a speedy recovery ahead of their next assignment on Wednesday.
“This is a belated happy birthday to coach Benjani; this win is for him. As you saw, he’s not here, he’s not feeling well. We went to go see him in the morning at the hospital,” Dube said.
“This is a win for him. I hope he gets well soon, and I hope he will be back on track with us on Wednesday.”
The victory came as Bosso responded strongly to last weekend's disappointment when they were knocked out of the Zifa Munhumutapa Challenge Cup by lower-league side Blackrock on penalties.
Dube said the shock cup exit served as a lesson for the players, who approached the derby with a renewed attitude and patience.
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“Going out last week was a lesson learned. We came here with a positive attitude, tried to get the boys back to winning ways,” he said.
“You saw the way we played. We were patient in the first half, which we are supposed to do, and the outcome shows our resilience.”
The assistant coach praised the players for fighting through what he described as difficult circumstances to deliver a convincing performance against their city rivals.
“When you do these games, it’s the whole game. You have to look at all the mistakes. We spoke about them before the game, and the boys really fought really, really hard,” Dube said.
“Especially if you look at the circumstances, you know, the boys really fought well, and I’m proud of the boys.”
The result was also Bosso’s second victory over Chicken Inn this season after they defeated the Gamecocks 3-1 in the reverse Castle Lager Premier Soccer League fixture.
With the two victories coming by an identical scoreline, Highlanders will now be eyeing a treble over their city rivals when they meet again in the league.
The Chibuku Super Cup triumph will also provide a welcome boost to Bosso after their unexpected Munhumutapa Challenge Cup exit and comes at a crucial stage of the season as they seek to maintain momentum in both the league and cup competitions.
The immediate concern, however, will be the recovery of Mwaruwari, with Bosso hoping their coach will be fit to return to the dugout for Wednesday’s assignment.
