IN all fairness today’s hosts Highlanders have dominated this fixture against archrivals Dynamos.
But last year Bosso struggled against their nemesis, earning a draw in the first league meeting before DeMbare were awarded three points on a 3 – 0 scoreline after the return leg was abandoned in the first half due to crowd trouble.
Dynamos faithfuls would argue that their team was already leading 2 – 0 when commotion broke out.
However, it was only the second set of three points that the Glamour Boys took from Highlanders in seven years, a run of 13 matches since June 2015.
The other set of three points came in 2017, again through a boardroom decision after the match was abandoned, of course after fans invaded the pitch and yes, at Barbourfields Stadium.
Thus Dynamos are still looking for their first league win over Highlanders in open play in eight years.
And this time around this fixture comes on Match Day 1 of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season.
Bosso have a new look technical department led by Zambian Kelvin Kaindu, who is returning for another stint as the coach of the Bulawayo giants.
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Kaindu understands the magnitude of this match.
“For me it’s not one of the big games in the league, it's one of the big games on the continent of Africa. And such games are supposed to be televised across the continent,” he said.
“It comes in week 1 and I have heard many people with different sentiments with regards to why it is being played in the first week. I think a fixture is a fixture and we cannot avoid any team in the first round.
“What we need is just to focus on the game that is coming. We want the fans to come out in numbers to support as much as possible. "We want to entertain them and we must try as much as possible to avoid any violence,” he added.
Bosso are one of the teams that have had a rather quiet off-season and have not spent big to bolster the squad.
In fact, a number of young players have been promoted from the development side into the senior team.
But Dynamos have brought in a number of top players as they bid to win their first league title in 10 years while they will compete in the Caf Confederations Cup.
A fortnight ago their preparation for the new season suffered a setback after they lost 2 – 0 to league champions Ngezi Platinum Stars in the Castle Challenge Cup.
Coach Genesis Mangombe will be desperate to kick start the season with a win.
“This time everyone has been registered and we have stiff competition in camp. We expect the guys to perform very well and to win games also because what failed us was our poor conversion rate. At this moment in time we are more than ready, the preparations have gone well.
“We have tried to instill what we want in terms of the philosophy and the way we want these guys to play. Now they understand it better than last season. We expect to have a very good squad going to Bulawayo,” Mangombe said.
Kickoff is at 3pm
Fixtures
Manica Diamonds vs Simba Bhora (Sakubva), Highlanders vs Dynamos (Barbourfields), Hwange vs Yadah (Colliery)
