Opportunity missed

The Chronicle

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter

HIGHLANDERS’ lacklustre display in Sunday’s Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals could dent striker Lynoth Chikuhwa’s chances of moving outside the country, as the forward hardly had clear scoring opportunities while being watched by a South African scout.

Bosso lost the match 1-0 to Bulawayo Chiefs, with Highlanders only taking a single shot at goal throughout the 90 minutes as their opponents closed all the supply line for Chikuhwa.

Chronicle Sport has it on good authority that the scout named Paul Matthews had been sent by SuperSport United to have a look at the 29-year-old Highlanders forward who has 10 goals and four assists in the league. The former Bosso juniors captain has three goals in Tshilamoya’s last two matches, having hit the target once in the 3-2 victory over Yadah in Harare and netted a brace when Amahlolanyama overcame Triangle 2-0 at Barbourfields Stadium. 

Lynoth Chikuhwa

Chikuhwa recently extended his contract with Highlanders up to December 2024, which means the club will benefit financially if he is to move outside the country. 

Matthews sat in the VIP Stand at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday and was seen in the company of Highlanders chief executive officer Ronald Moyo.

Impeccable sources said Chikuhwa, whose conversion rate in the last 10 Premier Soccer League games stands at 70 percent, scoring seven goals, caught interest from South Africa’s SuperSport United.

It is said that the former South African champions initially wanted to invite Chikuhwa for trials but resolved to send their spotter to have a look at the player in a game situation. 

“The scout was here to look at Chikuhwa. It’s unfortunate that the team didn’t create any chances for the strikers including Chikuhwa, so we are not aware what the outcome would be. It was a tightly contested encounter, but we hope something positive comes up,” said the source.

That at 29 years Chikuhwa is managing to draw interest from a top side like SuperSport should be a confidence booster for the striker who had a four-year-stint in Botswana.

He played at Botswana’s Premiership clubs — Black Forests, Security Systems, Miscellaneous and BR Highlanders before joining Bosso in April last year. 

Peter Muduhwa

Bosso reportedly bargained on Matthews’ visit, asking the scout to also have a look at 29-year-old Peter Muduhwa who had a short stint at Tanzania’s Simba SC as well as central attacking midfielder Devine Mhindirira who turns 22 in December. Mhindirira has been by far the best player for Highlanders this season. 

Highlanders players were not aware that there was a scout who was monitoring their game, a decision that sources said was meant to ease pressure on the footballers. Muduhwa was sent off twice by referee Allan Bhasvi, in the first-half when he brought down Obriel Chirinda to concede a penalty and then towards the end of the match. Chirinda took the spot kick and it was saved by Bosso skipper Ariel Sibanda. Muduhwa was called back after Highlanders players managed to convince Bhasvi that he had booked the wrong player but saw red again just before the end of the match after Chirinda had also been sent off. 

Devine Mhindirira

Contacted for comment about Matthews’ presence at Emagumeni, Nozibelo Maphosa, the Highlanders communications and marketing officer said: 

“We can confirm Paul Matthews attended our match against Bulawayo Chiefs. We believe as a football person he just wanted to watch us play since he was in Bulawayo. We don’t know if he had specific intentions other than watching the two teams in action.” — @ZililoR

Article Source: The Chronicle

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