SIMBA Bhora coach Tonderai Ndiraya is hoping to turn their home ground Wadzanai Stadium into a fortress where visiting teams should come out empty-handed.
The Shamva-based side has remained unbeaten in seven matches at their newly-built stadium, which welcomed Premier League football for the first time at the start of the season.
Their 3-nil league win over Arenel Movers at Wadzanai Stadium over the weekend was the fourth win at home out of the total eight wins they have recorded so far this season.
More crucially, the victory kept Ndiraya’s men in title contention as they remained third on the log standings with 27 points, four behind new leaders FC Platinum.
The former Dynamos coach’s record, especially this season, shows he has made a positive impact at the ambitious club, who are gunning for the title in only their second campaign in the topflight league.
For Simba to achieve their lofty ambitions, Ndiraya knows that he has to make Wadzanai an intimidating place for opponents.
“We won our second match in succession, which is good for us. I am glad we won at Wadzanai Stadium because before this, our statistics showed that we had won more games away from home. We have won eight games and it’s now four apiece. We want to improve that home record. We have to get more wins at home and some wins away,” the Simba Bhora mentor said.
“I am happy with the passionate way the fans here support the team. We need to try and collect as many points as possible at home. History shows that a team with a solid home record always stands a good chance of winning the title.”
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Ndiraya lavished praise on striker Tymon Machope after another good shift from the big centre forward, describing him as a “real talent”.
The Warriors striker scored a brace on Saturday to take his tally to six this season, one shy of the seven he scored last season.
Midfielder Mthokozisi Msebe netted a stunner from outside the box to seal the victory and the former Bulawayo Chiefs star was also picked for praise by Ndiraya.
“He (Machope) is showing his class. He’s got a humble background, but the talent that is in him does not really show the background that he has. He is some talent and I’m happy that he scored a brace,” Ndiraya said.
“Tymon has been getting into scoring positions, getting chances in the games that he has played, but in some instances, he was not so clinical.
“Against Arenel, he showed that he can be very clinical on a good day. He scored the first with his head and the second goal was a classic one.
“Mthokozisi Msebe is a goalscorer of repute and lately, he has not been giving us goals. So slowly, he is getting back to himself. That was the Msebe that we want to see and hopefully he can improve with each passing game.”
Ndiraya said his team needs to improve its record against the so-called small teams if it is to realise its dream of lifting the league trophy at the end of the season.
Simba Bhora lost to Bikita Minerals and Bulawayo Chiefs and were held by Herentals, GreenFuel and TelOne, points that they may rue at the end of the campaign.
In contrast, they have impressed against the league’s big boys, beating Dynamos, Caps United, defending league champions Ngezi Platinum Stars and second-placed Manica Diamonds.
“I’m happy that we managed to beat Arenel Movers, obviously because we have not been doing so well against the so-called small teams,” Ndiraya said.
“The performance was good. I did not expect such a performance coming from a mini-break that we had. It was a bit surprising that the team could give us such a perfomance because to be honest, we were a bit afraid because of the break.”
Simba Bhora’s next match is a tough trip to log leaders FC Platinum on Saturday, with the club hoping to repeat what they did last season when they walked away from Mandava Stadium with all the three points following a 2-1 victory.
