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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Highlanders’ coach Barry Daka says he is alarmed by the Bulawayo giants’ free-fall and has warned that they have all the hallmarks of a team that could be relegated.

Bosso sunk to a new low when they suffered a hat-trick of losses following a 2-3 defeat to league leaders Chicken Inn in a Bulawayo derby at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday.

This latest defeat puts them in 10th place and just seven points clear of the relegation zone with 25 points from 21 games. They are three points behind ninth placed Chapungu and just four points above 11th placed ZPC Kariba.

After a remarkable 5-1 demolition of How Mine, Bosso suffered a painful 1-2 home loss to FC Platinum followed by a shock 0-1 defeat at the hands of second from the bottom Whawha.

Daka, one of the longest serving Highlanders’ coaches with 15 years service, said the team was not showing any signs of staying up and a footballing decision should be made before the unthinkable happens to the country’s oldest football club.

“This is a cancer which needs urgent treatment otherwise iyahamba. I think the way we’re developing our players also needs to change, and change quickly,” said Daka.

He said some players in the first team did not seem to understand what Highlanders stands for and what defeat means to the club’s large army of supporters.

Daka blamed the present recruitment model and urged the club to revert to its once famed junior policy, saying as long as that does not happen, fans should brace for more agony.

Bosso, Daka said, should only be buying extraordinarily talented players that will justify their arrival by commanding regular starting places.

During the second transfer window in July, Highlanders registered 17-year-old Obert Tafira and Thembinkosi Simango, but the two have failed to justify their presence at Bosso. Simango has made cameo appearances while Tafira has largely been relegated to the club’s reserves.

“Highlanders’ past success has largely been due to its strong junior policy as players would have come through the ranks and understood what it meant to wear that jersey. Our juniors need to be brought to Barbourfields Stadium for their matches so that their blood is turned black and white in their early years. I was shocked this Sunday when our Under-18 boys played outside BF (the outside fields),” said Daka.

Under-fire Bosso coach Bongani Mafu described the loss to Chicken Inn as a shocker and there are now increasing calls for him to be given the boot.

Although both the Highlanders’ board and executive have chosen the convenient route of remaining mum, something needs to change quickly if Bosso are not to be sucked into a relegation battle.

That suggestion seemed absurd at the beginning of the season, but their recent performances have been so bad that to think otherwise would be outrageously naive.

Club sources have said the executive had resolved to part ways with Mafu, but their decision was rescinded by the board, who reportedly questioned why the coach was not fired when he failed to fulfil his contractual obligations of garnering 18 points from his first 10 matches. He only managed 14 points.

However, board secretary Jimmy Ncube has denied that there has been any undue interference, saying the decision to fire and hire was the prerogative of the executive.

Mafu first assumed his coaching role at Bosso bubbling with confidence and even went to the extent of warning that other teams would find it difficult to beat the Bulawayo giants.

He boldly stated that teams would be smacked by the team he would build, but the sad reality is that his side has been running on empty for the better part of the 21 games they have played this season.

Under Mafu, the players have looked paralysed by fear playing in front of their own supporters at Barbourfields Stadium and Bosso remained ensconced in mid-table mediocrity as a result. The players have also looked confused for far too long, with too many square pegs in round holes, making the team look disjointed as Mafu constantly shuffles his team desperately scratching around for a winning solution.

Right now it’s difficult to see where Bosso’s next point, let alone a win, will come from as it appears Mafu doesn’t have a get-out-of-jail card on the evidence of the last three games.

The Mafu question has turned the relationship between the club and its loyal supporters toxic and most can’t understand how a coach, who has repeatedly expressed satisfaction with the declining performances of his team no matter the result, continues to hold onto one of the biggest jobs in domestic football.

Although Bosso could still have just about enough to avoid relegation, their hard to please die-hard fans never want it to be this close.

In other matches, Dynamos needed a late Ronald Chitiyo goal to collect maximum points against How Mine at Rufaro Stadium while Triangle were humbled 0-1 by FC Platinum at Gibbo Stadium.

Dynamos’ win pushed them to second on the table, four points behind Chicken Inn, while FC Platinum are now third, five points behind the leaders.

The top four sides are yet to meet for their reverse fixtures.

At the Colliery, Hwange continued their revival with a hard fought 1-0 victory over a determined Harare City to move eighth on the table with 28 points.

Tsholotsho fell 0-2 to fellow strugglers Dongo Sawmills despite their brilliant performance against champions Dynamos last week.

Results
Saturday: ZPC Kariba 2-1 Whawha

Sunday: Dynamos 1-0 How Mine, Triangle United 0-1 FC Platinum, Chapungu 2-1 Caps United, Dongo Sawmill 2-0 Tsholotsho, Buffaloes 2-0 Flame Lily, Hwange 1-0 Harare City, Highlanders 2-3 Chicken Inn