Hwange ready for Buffaloes

Sport
HWANGE Football Club head coach Nation Dube has sent a bold message to the teams’ supporters ahead of the PSL season that kicks off this coming weekend.

HWANGE Football Club head coach Nation Dube has sent a bold message to the teams’ supporters ahead of the 2014 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) season that kicks off this coming weekend. RONALD MOYO SPORTS REPORTER The coal miners will host Buffaloes at the Colliery on Sunday in their first match of the season and Dube is confident of his charges.

Dube said although the preparations did not go according to plan as he did not manage to have friendly matches with any of the country’s big teams, Buffaloes must brace themselves for a competitive match come Sunday.

Hwange managed to play two pre-season matches against Chicken Inn at home in Bulawayo and won 1-0 on both occasions. They also travelled to Bulawayo for a 2-2 draw against the PSL returnees Bantu Rovers.

“We want to be a competitive team and finish the league in a respectable position. Winning the league will be a bonus to us considering that we struggled last season. We finished the season on a good run, so I call for that element of continuity from where we left off last season.

“Our fans must prepare themselves for a good season. We are ready to take on Buffaloes on Sunday, though we are not happy with the last minute surprise change of venue. We were supposed to start away, but it has changed suddenly,” Dube said.

The team added one of the most underrated strikers in the land Alick Marime, who banged in 10 leagues goals for relegated Tripple B last season, unheralded and clubless attacking midfielder Talent Chamboko and former Southern Region Division One league outfit Technosphere’s striker Newman Sianchali.

Warriors defender Erick Chipeta, veteran goalkeeper Timothy Sibanda, Gerald Ndlovu, Gilbert Zulu, Isaac Masame, David Boriwondo, Nkosana Siwela and Farai Vimisayi are some of the names that the coal miners managed to retain from their last season squad.

Rodwell Chinyengetere, who suffered a career-threatening injury in 2012 against Monomotapa in Harare is back on his feet and has been training with the club.

Chinyengetere, who had won the hearts of the Warriors technical team before the injury, played in the friendly match against Chicken Inn at Luveve, albeit with a limp.

Hwange had one of their worst seasons in 2013 surviving the chop from the top-flight league on the last day.

Dube also said he will use the game against Buffaloes as a yardstick to measure his side’s strength in the campaign.

“This is the game that will tell us where we are at the moment. The boys are combining well at training, I am hoping that they will take that performance to the competitive matches,” he added.