Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
MANICA Diamonds have made a strong start to the 2025 Castle Lager Premiership when compared to previous seasons when the team struggled, only to pick up the pieces towards mid-season.
Their consistency will now be put to test as they face defending champions, Simba Bhora at Wadzanayi Stadium in Shamwa tomorrow (Saturday).
The defending champions, Simba Bhora secured their second win of the season last Saturday with a 1-0 victory over TelOne at Wadzanayi Stadium.
Last Saturday’s win was a significant boost for Simba Bhora’s team coach, Joel Lupahla, who had reportedly been given a target to win three games, starting with the TelOne fixture.
The victory was sealed by a 53rd-minute strike from halftime substitute, Isaskar Gurirab, which proved to be the decisive factor following their defeat at the hands of Dynamos a fortnight ago.
The Shamva-based side has secured two victories in five matches, having started the season with two goalless draws.
They beat Herentals at home, with Gurirab scoring the crucial goal.
This latest win has undoubtedly given the team a much-needed momentum boost.
The Joel Luphahla-coached side fell to DeMbare, and were hard-pressed to return to winning ways against TelOne.
The victory moved them to sixth position with eight points, three behind new log leaders, MWOS, who beat ZPC Kariba to reclaim the top spot.
However, it is Manica Diamonds that had curved a status for themselves as late bloomers as they ended up fighting for the league championship, having started the season poorly.
But this time around, the Jairos Tapera-coached team has kept an intact home record, winning all their three matches at home against ZPC Kariba, Yadah and Dynamos.
In their two away matches played so far, the diamond miners of Mutare salvaged a point against Herentals in Harare, and lost to the Norman Mapeza-coached FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane.
Slippery winger, Charles Teguru’s strike was enough to hand Manica Diamonds the 1-0 victory over Dynamos in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match played at Sakubva Stadium last Saturday.
The result saw DeMbare registering its first defeat of the season, while Manica Diamonds stretched its home winning record to three consecutive victories.
Although Manica Diamonds collected maximum points on the day, Dynamos had a good show, thanks to their team captain, Emmanuel Jalai, who created a number of chances for the youngsters upfront, who failed to convert them into goals.
Manica Diamonds first assistant coach, Tafadzwa Mashiri admitted that his side had a poor second half performance, and bemoaned several chances they failed to convert throughout the game.
“A very good game, especially the first half, in which we overran them. I feel we didn’t do justice to the numerous chances that we created. Our conversion rate was very poor. We could have gotten a cushioned goal, but that is football, second half, we came flat, and we salute Dynamos because they were very strong,” said Mashiri, adding that they now need to build on the solid performance and collect as many points as possible.
“I can say we have had a relatively good start to the season and we are happy with that. We now need to go forward and build on the momentum we have created. We now need to remain consistent and ensure that we collect as many points as we can as the season progresses. As for our home record, our wish is to keep it intact,” said Mashiri.
