Scottland eye double over Rhinos
WHEN they arrived on the Northern Region Soccer League scene at the start of the season, few had installed Scottland among the title favourites.
This was against the background of the vast experience that their rivals who include log leaders Black Rhinos, Harare City, MWOS, Golden Eagles, and Black Mambas have amassed over the years.
But by the halfway stage of the league marathon two weeks ago, ambitious Scottland had underlined their champion-ship credentials, having gone on a fine run that forced bookmakers to install them among the strong title contenders.
Their 2-0 win over log leaders Rhinos at Rufaro on July 12 on the back of early second-half goals by Jacob Nyakope and Dumisani Kupane was a statement win for coach William Nyasulu’s men over his former mentor Nesbert “Yabo Saruche-ra.
It was a victory that had Scottland’s rivals in the Division One league stand up and take note and also underscored club president Scott Sakupwanya’s passion and audacious bid to secure promotion into the Premier Soccer League at the end of the season.
Sakupwanya wants his club to be the pride of Mabvuku-Tafara, a constituency which he represents in the House of Assembly.
Scottland are thus not leaving anything to chance and have been busy during the mid-season transfer window during which they brought in reinforcements both in the playing and technical staff.
They have roped in another of Mabvuku’s illustrious sons and former Warriors and Umtata Bush Bucks captain William Mugeyi to assist the technical bench.
Veteran defender Jimmy Dzingai, who featured for the Warriors at the 2019 World Cup, seasoned striker Allen Ga-hadzikwa, and talented midfielder King Nadolo are now on Scottland’s books where they will link up with Lincoln Zvasiya and Denver Mukamba.
On Saturday, the Mabvuku outfit will visit Rhinos at Heart stadium seeking to do the double on the soldiers and dent Saruchera’s own dream of a quick return to the Premiership with the army side.
Such is the tight competition at the top that just three points separate Rhinos (41) in pole position and fourth-placed Scottland.
MWOS with 40 points are second while Harare City are perched in third position, courtesy of a superior goal difference as they have the same number of points (38) as Scottland.
Now after a fortnight’s recess, it will be back to business as the clubs once again fix their eyes on the prize with the sec-ond half of the season getting underway tomorrow with a battle of strugglers DZ Royals against Zambezi G&C at Motor Action Sports Club.
Scottland goalkeeper Panashe Nyabunga is optimistic that they overcome Rhinos once again, as they are now gunning for the title.
“We are aiming to be promoted to the topflight,’’ Nyabunga said.
“We are just three points behind the log leaders so we have a big chance to close the gap.
“As a goalkeeper, I have a huge task ahead of me as the last line of defence.
“The more, clean sheets that I make the more the chances of winning games.
“One will find out that it is not a stroll in the park but there is a need to put in more hard work,’’ Nyabunga said.
Nyabunga believes the availability of more senior players will stabilise the squad and give them depth.
“The club has signed several senior players, which I believe is good for the competition and depth within the squad. Eve-ryone’s ultimate goal is to see the team being successful come the end of the season and we will prioritise team goals.
“And the senior players will be the vital cog in that drive. When the going gets difficult those are the guys who can come through and calm others under pressure and make sure there is a smooth flow of things,” he said.
Nyakope, with three goals to his name, reckons that their win against Rhinos in their last encounter was enough to send a clear message to their opponents of their capabilities. “The win over Rhinos was a great step for us. “Rhinos are one of the favourites and we have done well so far considering we are a team that just came up together from scratch at the beginning of the season.
“So, we are competing against the big boys. We got positive results against Harare City, Rhinos, and Black Mambas in the first half.
“I am very grateful to honourable Scott Sakupwanya for this opportunity, especially many youths from Mabvuku, we have been given a platform to showcase our talent.
“And we hope to show our gratitude by gaining promotion,” said Nyakope.
Saruchera, who in his Division One coaching career, rarely loses to the same opponents twice maintained that he was unfazed by the business that Scottland did during the break.
Instead, Saruchera is happy that the break allowed some of his players to recover from niggling injuries.
“The break was good…those who had minor injuries have fully recovered now everyone is back in training and we hap-py,’’ Saruchera said.
He said they were still finalising their squad in time for last night’s registration deadline and welcomed the news that Scottland and their other rivals had bolstered their sides.
“It’s good for the competition if they bring in quality it’s good for our league which is the best out of the four regions’’.
Saruchera said he was determined to avoid suffering back-to-back defeats to Scottland.
“It won’t happen again; we are more than ready for them’’.
The long-serving Rhinos coach is also aware of the small gap between his team and the chasing pack.
“Football is a pressure sport and whether you are at the bottom or top, the pressure is always there.
“We need to maintain and increase our lead at the top
“It’s not going to be easy but count us in,’’ said Saruchera.
Fixtures: Tomorrow: DZ Royal Stars v Zambezi G&C (Motor Action Sports Club 1200hrs), Cranborne Bullets v CCLEE Mhangura (Motor Action Sports Club 3pm) Saturday: Ngezi U19 v Black Mambas (Baobab, 200hrs); Harare City v Trojan Stars (Motor Action, Sports Club 1pm); Shamva Mine v Agama (Shamva Mine 3pm); Black Rhinos v Scottland (Heart 3pm); PAM v Norton Community (Muriel Mine 3pm); Chinhoyi Stars v Banket United (Chinhoyi 3pm); MWOS v Herentals U20 (Ngoni 3pm)
Sunday: Karoi United v Golden Eagles (Chikangwe 3pm)