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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
HIGHLANDERS coach, Madinda Ndlovu, has finalised his squad for the 2018 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season that starts next week.

The Bosso legend was tasked with the responsibility of returning the club to its old ways of promoting players from the junior ranks instead of going to the market. This was in line with resolutions of last year’s Highlanders’ mid-season general meeting where members agreed to focus on home grown talent.

However, during the pre-season training, Ndlovu identified a deficit in his strike force and acquired Newman Sianchali to guide the youngsters up front.
Ndlovu said he was now content with his squad.

“We did a clean swap with Talen Vision for Sianchali whereby Lucky Ndebele went the other direction. Ndebele was struggling slightly to catch up with the pace of the other players in terms of what we are expecting from a top man. He is still our player and has gone to Talen Vision to get game time,” said Ndlovu.

“We’re done with recruiting; there are no more vacancies at Highlanders. Sianchali was the last person to join us. As we indicated, we were in the hunt for a top man, not men. A seasoned striker is what we were looking for. I believe we have got one in Sianchali. What it means is that we don’t have a vacancy anymore.

“Maybe we will have openings in the next window if things do not work out. At this time there is no point in wasting people’s time by inviting players for trials when the league starts next week. We have to concentrate on maintaining what we have been working on for the past eight weeks,” he said.

Besides Sianchali, players that have joined Highlanders for the new season include former Tsholotsho FC and Ngezi Platinum Stars right-back McClive Phiri, who seems to have easily settled at Bosso and could be the find of the season. Former Under-20 defensive midfielder Ben Munsaka, ex-Bantu Rovers central midfielder Munyaradzi Chitambwe and unheralded Aces Youth Academy product Nigel Mukombe, who is an attacking midfielder, are some of Ndlovu’s new boys.

The Highlanders’ great heaped praise on midfielder Adrian Silla, who has scored two goals during their pre-season games in their 2-1 win over Chicken Inn in the ZNA Charity Shield semi-final and last weekend’s 1-2 loss to Dynamos in the final.

Some of the players expected to play important roles during Ndlovu’s tenure include goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda, central defender Peter Muduhwa, skipper Honest Moyo (left-back), wingers Godknows Makaruse and the speedy Gabriel Nyoni.

On Sunday, Highlanders wrap up their pre-season preparations with a clash against Caps United in the VP Mohadi Charity Shield at Barbourfields Stadium.

Proceeds from the match will be donated to an old people’s home. — @ZililoR