Zimpapers Logo

Dingilizwe Ntuli Sports Editor
HIGHLANDERS’ chief striker Obidiah Tarumbwa responded positively to the criticism of his coach by grabbing the all-important goal that ensured the Bulawayo giants registered their first victory over bitter rivals, Dynamos in open play since 2006.

Bosso beat Dynamos 1-0 to lift the Zimbabwe National Army Charities shield at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday.

Coach Bongani Mafu last week threw down the gauntlet to his misfiring strikers after a 1-1 draw against Dynamos in a league match his charges could have easily won had they converted goal scoring opportunities they created.

Although Mafu gave a damning assessment of his entire frontline’s contribution this season, he singled out the experienced Tarumbwa and put him on notice warning that he would not hesitate to give him the boot if he continued failing.

Mafu said football was about scoring goals and blamed the blunt strike force for costing the team wins in recent matches. As the most experienced striker in the Highlanders’ frontline, Mafu reminded Tarumbwa that it was his job as a striker to score and that is why he was brought to Bosso.

However, Mafu’s critics felt his public slaughter of Tarumbwa was disrespectful of the striker and said he should have expressed his misgivings directly to the player and not blast him in the media.

They said such public censure could deeply affect the player’s morale and negatively impact his form, but Mafu was vindicated as Tarumbwa drew motivation from the criticism and not the despondency doomsayers had forecasted.

On Sunday, Tarumbwa showed a burning desire to succeed and prove to Mafu that he was the right man to lead the Bosso frontline by scoring perhaps one of the most important goals against Dynamos this decade.

He was a constant menace in the game and could have scored more goals with a bit of luck, and his display can only be attributed to Mafu’s criticism.

No one enjoys being publicly criticised and the best way to respond to it is to prove the critics wrong — and that is exactly what Tarumbwa did.

But should coaches publicly criticise their players to get the best out of them or deal with them far from the public gaze during training sessions?

Answers are debatable, but in this case Mafu’s public criticism worked, not only for him, but for Tarumbwa and the team.

It motivated the whole team as none of the players wanted to be singled out for a public dressing down had Bosso lost.

Whichever way one looks at it though, it’s unacceptable for strikers of a big club such as Highlanders to be anonymous in matches, let alone lack any shot on target.

How can a striker with international experience fail to force a single save by a goalkeeper in 90 minutes? It’s unacceptable because with top strikers at this level of the game, it should be one chance, one goal.

Mafu must be applauded for risking a serious public backlash because his strikers’ inability to score was also giving him sleepless nights.

He has taken a lot of flak for the team’s poor performances and he reserves the right to resort to ways he believes work out for the team.

Bosso goalkeepers have been blamed for letting in simple goals, but if the strikers were scoring more often, then the keepers’ mistakes would not be felt that much.

The Bulawayo giants have registered too many unnecessary draws this season but when statistics are closely analysed, the team creates chances that the wasteful strike force fails to utilise.

In fact, some of the opportunities turn out to be harder to miss than score, and unfortunately Mafu can’t score for them.