The Chronicle
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
IT was a miserable record, befitting a small club, not a giant one that is famous for winning league titles.
On 32 occasions Highlanders have been on the road in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer league and for 32 games they failed to bring home maximum points. Their last victory away from Barbourfields Stadium was in 2018 when they beat Triangle 2-1 at Gibbo Stadium.
Actually, the entire 2018 season saw Highlanders fail to win any game away from Barbourfields Stadium, drawing 10 times and losing five.
It took an awkward Friday afternoon fixture and a Portuguese tactician named Baltemar Brito to finally break the curse. Yesterday Bosso travelled to Harare for a duel against the Miracle Boys, Yadah, and it was indeed a miraculous day, for Highlanders at least.
Goals by Lynoth Chikuhwa, Ray Lunga and Washington Navaya propelled Bosso to the much awaited victory on the road.
It had been coming. Just a fortnight ago Brito managed to win on the road in a Chibuku Super Cup first round match.
The Chibuku Super Cup victory appears to have boosted the team’s confidence and Yadah were unfortunate to be the first victims.
Hendrick Pieter de Jongh, before yesterday, was the last coach to win an away match but it was in the Chibuku Super cup in 2019.
He beat Dynamos in his first game in Zimbabwe
Madinda Ndlovu was in charge when Bosso last won at Gibbo Stadium. When he parted ways with the club, Mandla Mpofu took over as interim coach and failed to win on the road.
De Jongh then took over and won the Chibuku Super Cup, but the away league win was elusive in his tenure.
Mpofu was appointed substantive coach and when the 2021-2022 season started in November last year, he failed to win a game away from Emagumeni until he was fired in May.
Brito then took over. Before breaking the unwanted streak, he had overseen three away matches, managing two stalemates and a defeat.
His away victory is sure to silence Brito’s critics who have doubted his capabilities.
There are some in the Bosso family who don’t believe that patience is a virtue, they want results now.
But what is clear is that if Brito is to achieve his goals at the club, the fans will need to be patient. – @innocentskizoe.
Article Source: The Chronicle