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â€˜BULL NOT INVINCIBLEâ€™

By Mthunzi Maziya | 2019-02-18

SOCCER – “We are not invincible!”

These were the words of Mbabane Highlanders’ Zimbabwean coach Saul Chaminuka, which appeared to be a direct response to the team’s fans, who questioned his team selection for the 0-1 defeat against Malanti Chiefs on Saturday.

Some of the fans were completely dissatisfied with the team’s performance, and expressed unhappiness with the line-up.

The ‘Bull’s line-up saw defender Simphiwe Manana play a defensive role in central midfield, which the fans did not warm up to. A majority felt the coach should have deployed Mlamuli ‘Mlaba’ Nkambule in that position, but he was on the bench.

Interviewed after the match, Chaminuka said what the fans did not understand was that most of his players were playing with injuries. He said fans should understand that the team is at times forced to make changes to cope with unexpected situations.

“We have too many injuries in the team. Sometimes people see players sitting on the bench and think everything is fine, yet most of them are not fit. We, as a technical team, decide what to do in order to cope with these circumstances,” he said.

Chaminuka refused to accept that they lost to Malanti Chiefs because they had made too many changes to the team. He said, instead, Malanti won the match because they had done their homework to good effect.

Not easy

“It is not easy to beat the same team three times in one season. There are times when we will lose matches. We cannot win every match,” he said.

Former Highlanders’ coach, Mlungisi ‘Professor’ Ngubane resigned his position in November last year when the team’s fans questioned his tactics in a 1-3 defeat to Mbabane Swallows. Although quite emotional in the press conference, Chaminuka gave no inclination he would follow suit.

“The changes affected our rhythm, which is why we appeared to be playing at a slow tempo than usual,” he said.

The coach further explained that striker Menzi Sithole was out injured, which he said did not help them. The team’s captain, Mxolisi ‘Chocco’ Sibandze said they had not been blighted by the announcement of the date of the Ingwenyama Cup final match against Young Buffaloes. He pleaded with the team’s fans to retain trust in the team’s technical team.

Highlanders have only lost twice all season under Chaminuka, a 1-2 loss to Moneni Pirates in December, and Saturday’s loss to Malanti. By far, this has been their best season in years.

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