HIGHLANDERS’ interim coach Madinda Ndlovu wants his team to honour the late Rahman Gumbo with a win when they take on Manica Diamonds in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Gibbo Stadium on Sunday.
Gumbo died last Friday in Botswana after a short illness and his body arrived in Bulawayo yesterday afternoon for burial at Lady Stanley Cemetery tomorrow.
A memorial service for Gumbo, who has been accorded a State-assisted burial, will be held at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre this afternoon.
The team went to Plumtree yesterday to receive Gumbo’s body and formed part of the funeral convoy from the border town to Bulawayo.
“We are going into his match on a sad note. We lost one of our coaches (Gumbo). I think we all know how much he has contributed to this wonderful club and last week we asked the players to play for him and they did that and we are also asking them to play for him in this game. I am just anticipating a situation whereby we are going to face a serious challenge but we just have to go over it. What we are just doing is to ask our players to give their best so that we can finish at a respectable position,” Ndlovu said.
Assistant coach Joel Luphahla said the boys look ready for the Manica Diamonds challenge.
“After a long time without winning, the attitude, the atmosphere at training has been very positive. It is good to see the boys giving their all. I am sure they have been reminded how sweet it is to win and we have seen a lot of change. We are in agreement — the technical team and the players — we need to try and play this game especially for our late coach. We are going to Gibbo to play a difficult game, a team that we can dislodge from the second position depending on other results if we win. It is going to be a difficult game. They are not going to give us that game on a silver platter,” Luphahla said.
Highlanders need to win their last two games and pray that Dynamos and Manica Diamonds drop points so they end the season as runners-up to the league that they looked set to win for the better part of the campaign.
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