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Madinda Ndlovu

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS go into today’s epic encounter against arch rivals Dynamos at the giant National Sports Stadium with their morale high despite having drawn at home against a winless Triangle United on Good Friday.

The draw saw the new look Bosso side drop their first set of points in the 2018 campaign having collected maximum points against Black Rhinos and Herentals in their opening two games but technical manager, Madinda Ndlovu, described the tactical discipline and performance of the boys was up to scratch compared to their 2-0 win over league debutants Herentals in Harare.

“The boys will go into the game with the morale high because they had a lot of positives on the pitch and a lot of acceptance from the supporters, the technical team and everybody around them really. They got a lot of praises to say they played very well which is a plus for us as we go to play against Dynamos,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu was a bit sceptical about fatigue playing its part in today’s encounter but was quick to highlight that it will not be an excuse to underperform.

“The players are human beings, there are some veins running in their system and people should understand that but as coaches we have means of making sure that the players recover in time before the next match. Yes, some will feel it but we have got enough players as we also rested some of the players with the Dynamos game in mind,” he said.

Highlanders benched midfield workhorse, Adrian Silla, before introducing him late on in the game and the player is expected to be in the starting line up this afternoon as the Bulawayo giants seek early revenge against their Harare opponents who beat them 1-2 in the final of the ZNA Charities Shield early this year which was played at the same venue.

Dynamos last beat Highlanders in a league encounter in 2015 in which they posted a controversial 3-2 win in Harare and last season the two giants settled for a 1-1 stalemate in Harare while the Bulawayo encounter was abandoned before regulation time due to crowd trouble and the Harare giants were given the match by the PSL disciplinary committee on a 3-0 scoreline.

Ndlovu said he was, however, not worried about the so called big game in the land as it was not the only game that Highlanders will play this season.

In Bulawayo, an epic encounter is expected at Luveve Stadium when Chicken Inn welcome Midlands-based side Shabanie Mine who have had a decent show in their opening three games so far which saw them stage a dramatic comeback to snatch a 3-3 draw against Dynamos in Harare.

Fixtures:

Today: FC Platinum v Bulawayo City (Mandava), Mutare City v Harare City (Vengere), Nichrut v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Ascot), Dynamos v Highlanders (NSS), Triangle v ZPC Kariba (Gibbo), Chicken Inn v Shabanie Mine (Luveve).