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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
HARARE City FC are hoping to pile the misery on Highlanders FC by handing the Bulawayo giants their third consecutive home defeat when they face off at Barbourfields Stadium tomorrow afternoon.

In their last two home matches, Highlanders lost to Chapungu and Caps United by identical 1-0 scorelines.

It is against this background that Harare City are confident of registering their first victory outside the capital.

Former Highlanders coach Mkhuphali “Mr Cooper” Masuku, now assistant gaffer to Taurai Mangwiro at Harare City, said they’re expecting a good game and his charges are upbeat following the 2-1 midweek win over ZPC Kariba.

“We’re not reading much into Highlanders’ said poor performance at home because playing them at Barbourfields Stadium is always tough for any opposition. They might be going through a bad spell but we are not worried about what’s happening in their camp. What we are hunting for is our first away win. We’re looking forward to going back to Harare with three points in the bag,” said Masuku.

Harare City are travelling for their fourth fixture outside the capital. In their other away games, they drew against Whawha and How Mine before losing 1-3 to Triangle United.

Masuku said their players made lots of mistakes against Kelvin Kaindu’s Triangle United which they rectified during the week, beating ZPC Kariba 2-1.

Harare City’s victory over ZPC Kariba led to the dismissal of Saul Chaminuka as the electricity generators’ head coach.

Should they leave Barbourfields Stadium with maximum points tomorrow, Harare City would’ve put the job of Highlanders coach – Bongani Mafu – back on the line.

Mafu’s contract has a clause stating that he has to garner 18 points out of a possible 30 from his 10 official league games. He signed a performance based contract and the club will review the team’s performance on Week 10 to see if they are within their target.

The 3-0 away win at Flame lily pushed Highlanders to fourth place with 13 points after eight games.

To save Mafu’s job, Highlanders players need outright wins in their next two assignments against Harare City and Chicken Inn.

Bosso go into tomorrow’s encounter bubbling with confidence after their strikers,Thomas Chideu, Gabriel Nyoni and Obidiah Tarumbwa, ended their goal drought.

“The strikers have been struggling and after this 3-0 win against Flame Lily, I’m sure they are motivated and their confidence has been restored,” said Mandla Mpofu, Highlanders’ assistant coach at the club’s weekly press conference.

He said they’ve been working round the clock to turn around Highlanders’ home fortunes.

“We’ve got a good bunch of players at Highlanders who are capable of giving us good results. Unfortunately the guys’ confidence, especially at home, has been low and as the technical team we’ve been working on lifting their spirits. We lost home games because we failed to keep possession and we were punished. We’ve been working hard to make sure that we correct our mistakes,” said Mpofu.

Mthulisi Maphosa is likely to return to first team action with either Simon Munawa or Tendai Ngulube making way for the veteran who has been sidelined by injury.

Bosso are still monitoring Nqobizitha Masuku who picked a knock against Flame Lily.

Some of the players expected to lead Bosso are goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda, Bruce Kangwa, evergreen Webster Chingodza, Tarumbwa and Chideu.

Bosso’s defence will have to keep an eye on Tino Kadewere, Francesco Zekumbawire and Martin Vengesai.

David Kutyauripo and Themba Ndlovu will marshal Harare City’s defence while James Jam, Tendai Samanja, Talent Chawapiwa, Homey Chimutimunzeve and Nicholas Alifandika are some of the players that Highlanders should closely monitor.

Masuku said confidence was high in the Harare City camp.

“We’ve got a fantastic squad driven by a desire to win. Unfortunately we’ve had a slow start but things are shaping up. A win at Barbourfields Stadium will be good for us as we will close in on the leaders,” he said.

Harare City are on position six with 12 points and a victory will see them leapfrog Highlanders.

Fixtures

Today: ZPC Kariba FC v Chicken Inn (Gwanzura), How Mine v Tsholotsho FC (Luveve), Chapungu v Dongo Sawmill (Ascot)

Tomorrow: Dynamos v FC Platinum (Rufaro), Highlanders v Harare City (Barbourfields), Hwange v Flame Lily (Colliery), Triangle United v Whawha (Gibbo), Buffaloes v Caps United (Sakubva)