BY FORTUNE MBELE
HIS three goals from spectacular freekicks have earned Bulawayo giants Highlanders an invaluable four points so far in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race.
The first two well curated goals from dead ball situations gave Bosso a 2 – 0 victory over Whawha at Barbourfields on February 20 and last weekend another jaw dropping freekick goal silenced a predominantly vocal CAPS United support base in a 1 – 1 draw in the capital.
Highlanders vice-captain Nqobizitha Masuku has quickly carved a name for himself as a dead ball specialist early in the domestic championship.
While many are in awe of his precision with free kicks, for him it is nothing new, he reckons he has always been an expert and is looking to continue curling them in until Highlanders are back among the best football teams in the country.
“I have always been good with free-kicks, but I think I had just lost the touch. Free-kicks have always been my specialty. I remember in our last season before Covid-19, I think it was in 2019 I scored from a free-kick at Ascot Stadium against Chapungu. I think I just lost interest in the set-pieces and gave the others a chance so that we share responsibilities. But now I have got that confidence back,” Masuku said in an interview with The Sports Hub.
Masuku has scored four goals in total for Highlanders in eight matches this season.
In addition to the set-pieces, Masuku also scored a header in the 4-0 drubbing of Herentals where another midfielder Adrian Silla and strikers Stanley Ngala and Lynoth Chikuhwa were on target.
Despite being a defensive midfielder, Masuku is the leading scorer at Highlanders and heading into the weekend matches he was just three goals behind the league’s leading scorers Chicken Inn’s Brian Muza and Manica Diamonds’ Nyasha Chuntuli.
“I am promising more goals for Highlanders and we do this collectively as a team. More goals and winning the championship is the target and I cannot do it alone.
“But we cannot just talk about winning the championship; we have to talk about winning the next game, be consistent, rise to the top and compete with the rest in the leading pack. We have to take Highlanders to where it belongs. Money or no money, what is important is to fight,” the former FC Platinum player said.
Masuku admits that there are a number of freekick specialists at Bosso and he has assumed the responsibility because of his rich vein of form with set pieces.
When he scored against Caps United last Sunday, behind the ball was him, Silla and Pritchard Mpelele, another free-kick specialist.
“We will all be behind the ball.
“We are all free-kick takers. But like I said about technique; we are all there to confuse the goalkeeper. The free-kick might need a left footer or right footer or just a tactic and the other thing is the issue of distance,” he said.
“Sometimes you are given a number of chances as a specialist and you don’t score and you lose confidence and interest and give others a chance; that is the sharing of responsibilities that I am talking about.”
Masuku scored five goals for FC Platinum in 2016 when he moved to Zvishavane from Highlanders, but they were all in open play.
He was at FC Platinum for two seasons before an unfruitful stay in Zambia with Buildcon in 2018 and bounced back at Highlanders.
Amidst the Covid-19 scourge, Masuku threatened to quit Highlanders last year over unpaid salaries, but after the coming on board of partners Utande Internet Services and eventual major sponsors Sakunda Holdings, the Highlanders vice-captain stayed put and has been a revelation for the Bulawayo giants in the start of the 2021-2022 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.