Highlanders face relegation

MatchDay

Chicken Inn inflicted more confusion within Bulawayo giants, Bosso camp with a power sapping 1-0 win on Sunday, making it a fifth consecutive loss for Highlanders, third straight loss since the departure of Kelvin Kaindu thereby exposing the side to possible relegation come end of season.

This loss meant that Highlanders are now on seventh position with 39 points and now trail log leaders Dynamos FC by 11 points.

Bosso are now among the eight clubs fighting relegation in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer league. This means that they could be ‘using trees as their dressing room’ in the ZIFA Southern Region Division 1 football next season if they do not win their remaining four matches.

In the second half of the season Bosso has managed two wins, three draws and five losses, their worst record in the past two seasons where they have finished second to Dynamos FC.

Should the former Champions lose all of their remaining four matches as they surely will considering their poor perfomances and Triangle (who have roped in the services of former Highlanders coach Kaindu) together with Black Rhinos, How Mine, Buffaloes and Shabanie win their remaining matches, Bosso will be in the unfashionable Division One next season.

Bosso travel to the Colliery for a date with unpredictable Hwange before they host already relegated Chiredzi FC whom they could join if Mark Mathe and recently appointed Director of Coaching Cosmas ‘Tsano’ Zulu do not up their game.

They will then visit rejuvenated Shabanie Mine and conclude their disastrous season against stubborn army side, Chapungu who forced a one all draw at Rufaro last week against champions DeMbare and have been outstanding under John Nyikadzino in their return to the topflight.

Highlanders FC who were the log leaders for the better part of the first half of the season now need to win their remaining four matches to avoid fighting relegation on the last day of the season.

With teams like Chicken Inn, Harare City, FC Platinum and Hwange FC now on top of the former champions, Bosso have themselves to blame after failing to capitalise on their better support base and remuneration packages.

At the beginning of the season Bosso bought the league’s finest players but failed to capitalise on Dynamos’ poor early run, only faltering where it matters most.

After a poor run with the club, the former Tshilamoya coach Kelvin Kaindu, was sacked, despite the fact that he had only lost a single match at home against Dynamos.

However, since Kaindu’s exit, caretaker coach Mark Mathe has failed to win in his tyhree outings as head coach, in the process failing to seal a slot in the Chibuku Super Cup final after Bosso were dumped 4-0 in the semis by a rejuvenated Harare City under caretaker coach Masimba Dinyero.

The loss also meant that Bosso could finish the season empty handed given that if they do not get a top four finish, they will be out of the Mbada Diamonds Cup.

Since the firing of Zambian coach Kelvin Kaindu, they have since roped in Cosmas ‘Tsano’ Zulu as the Director for coaching and things are getting worse by each day at the former champions.

Highlanders FC find themselves in a position similar to that Dynamos FC found themselves in 2005 when they had to win their last league match against Masvingo to survive the chop.