Highlanders completed a league double over their arch-rivals Dynamos in the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season. The latest victory came with a 2-0 win at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Goals from McKinnon Mushore and Godfrey Makaruse, scored either side of half-time, secured maximum points and bragging rights for Bosso in the second edition of the Battle of Zimbabwe.
This result followed Highlanders’ 2-1 win over Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium in March 2024.
Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu expressed satisfaction with the victory, highlighting his team’s ability to keep a clean sheet.
I think there is nothing better in the league than for you to do a double against Dynamos. We managed to score two goals and we kept a clean sheet.
I think we played well and we could have come out with a bigger scoreline, especially looking at the number of scoring chances that we had.
We knew Dynamos would come at us in the first 15 minutes and that’s what they did. But we had to maintain our composure and after that, we started playing our normal game.
[This win] gives us a lot of motivation. We had played a lot of draws during the season. This is how we started in the first round; we managed to pick up maximum points.
We have done it again in the second round and we remain positive. It’s a big win for the team, but we must remain focused.
Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe, on the other hand, blamed his players’ boycott of training in the lead-up to the match over unpaid bonuses and signing-on fees for the loss. He said:
It’s so painful, and as a coach, you don’t want to lose six points to the same team in one season. But it’s a game of football. At times we have these results.
But some things are beyond my control. If you saw the opponents’ intensity, it means they were well-prepared for us.
We failed to train and they capitalised on fast goal attacks. We tried to contain them but at the same time, we lost some energy in the process.
Maybe it was because of the lack of training. Our fitness level today was not spot on.
The victory sees Highlanders climb to 29 points, 9 behind log leaders FC Platinum on 38 points after 18 games.
Dynamos, meanwhile, are tied on 24 points with Herentals and Chicken Inn, while CAPS United, Bikita Minerals, and Bulawayo Chiefs have all accumulated 23 points each.
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