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Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
RESTORING lost pride and regaining their status as Bulawayo’s football giants motivated Highlanders’ players ahead of their Easycall Cup final against Chicken Inn on Sunday.

Highlanders chose the Easycall Cup, a tournament reserved for clubs that finished in the top eight in the 2014 Premier Soccer League season, to remind all and sundry that they are still a force to reckon with in domestic football.

Bosso, who last won a major trophy in 2013 by bagging the Mbada Diamonds Cup, beat league champions Chicken Inn 1-0 on Sunday to lift the NetOne sponsored Easycall Cup.

Ralph Matema’s 40th minute goal from the penalty spot was enough to hand Bosso the trophy in a lively final.

Overlapping left-back Honest Moyo won a penalty for Bosso after being hacked down in the box by Chicken Inn captain Danny “Deco” Phiri in the 39th minute and veteran striker Matema sent the Gamecocks’ keeper Elvis Chipezeze the wrong way.

The Bulawayo giants then defended their lead to deny Chicken Inn the league and cup double.

But just how did Highlanders pull such a top-drawer performance that left most Bosso followers convinced that interim coach Amini Soma-Phiri could be the right man to bring back the glory days.

Highlanders’ road to victory in the Easycall Cup wasn’t easy as they faced the league’s top three teams, who they beat with some swagger to lift the trophy.

They surprised many by beating pre-tournament favourites FC Platinum, who had been enjoying a good run of form, right in their backyard through a goal by Knox Mutizwa in injury time.

The 1-0 win ensured that Highlanders became the first team to beat FC Platinum in open play since May. The Zvishavane-based miners had gone for 18 league matches without losing. Their last defeat in open play was a 0-1 loss to Dynamos on May 10.

In between, the platinum miners lost to Dynamos on penalties in the Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals at the National Sports Stadium in September.

After claiming the scalp of FC Platinum, who finished the season in third position in the league, Bosso went on to register a memorable 2-1 win against perennial rivals Dynamos.

DeMbare are the league runners-up. To cap a fine season, Bosso beat the league champions Chicken Inn on Sunday to give their fans an early Christmas present.

Highlanders’ technical advisor Cosmas “Tsano” Zulu said unlike the Dynamos match where they had to psychologically psyche up their players, they played mind games with the players and also worked on the right strategy for Chicken Inn match.

He said Chicken Inn’s declaration that the centre of power in Zimbabwean football had shifted and they couldn’t be categorised among small teams had motivated the Bosso players.

“We went with that newspaper to camp where Chicken Inn’s coach declared that they’re no longer a small team and asked the boys whether they were comfortable to watch Chicken Inn taking their giants’ status. The boys then declared in camp that they were going to fight for Highlanders’ pride and show everyone who the real giants are, which they did. The final was more about restoring lost pride and regaining Highlanders’ status as Bulawayo’s football giants,” said Zulu.

After lifting the players’ spirits, Zulu said they then shifted their attention to the tactical side.

They dropped Nqobizitha Masuku from the starting line-up and started King Nadolo, who previously came off the bench as an impact player, so that he could restrict Chicken Inn captain Danny “Deco” Phiri to his defensive duties.

Zulu said they knew that if they allowed Phiri to venture upfront, they could have invited trouble for themselves as the midfielder’s long range shots could have caused problems for goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda.

With Nadolo starting, Phiri kept a close eye on the nimble-footed Bosso playmaker.

Highlanders also benched linkman Valentine Ndaba and pushed Bruce Kangwa from left-back into midfield with Honest Moyo assigned to the left back position.

Because of his impressive work rate, Kangwa was assigned to track the Gamecocks’ playmaker Clemence Matawu, with Simon Munawa given the mandate to close down Raphael Kutinyu.

Zulu said they knew that once they had suffocated the trio of Phiri, Matawu and Kutinyu, they would have neutralised Chicken Inn winger George Majika.

According to the Bosso interim technical advisor, who credits caretaker coach Amini Soma-Phiri and assistant Melusi Sibanda for the Easycall Cup, they used a 4-5-1 formation whenever they were defending, congesting the midfield to make it difficult for Chicken Inn to string passes.

“If you look closely, all our players were behind the ball whenever we lost possession. One of the strikers between Knox Mutizwa and Matema dropped into the midfield when we were marking, getting an extra man to shut down the mobile Matawu and Kutinyu and it paid off,” said Zulu.

He heaped praises on Highlanders’ players for being tactically disciplined.