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Zimbabwe: Simba Bhora Crumble Under Pressure
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Castle Lager Premier Soccer League log leaders Simba Bhora coach Tonderai Ndiraya will be using his senior players as a trump card for their championship quest.
He admits that Simba, who have maintained pole position in the championship race for weeks, are in unfamiliar PSL territory.
As a result, this has exerted them under pressure on and off the pitch.
On Saturday they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Herentals, who scored an injury-time winner at Rufaro. With FC Platinum beating Yadah 3-0 at Mandava on the same day, Simba Bhora still need four points from the remaining four matches to land the title.
Their next assignment is at home to CAPS United while they also have a home fixture against FC Platinum before the end of the season.
“This is an unfamiliar territory that we are in as a team, and to finish the race in this position we now need all the psychological strength,” he said.
Making their elite league debut last year, Simba were at this stage of the season fighting for survival.
They went on to finish their 2023 campaign in position 12.
Expressing their championship ambitions, this season they brought in 2022 Soccer Star of the Year Walter Musona, goalkeepers Talbert Shumba and Taimon Mvula, Mthokozisi Msebe, Junior Makunike, Perfect Chikwende, Gift Saunyama, Malvin Mkolo and Billy Veremu.
Undeniably, the team has made a huge impression this year, leading the PSL race for weeks. To withstand the pressure that comes with the championship race, Ndiraya feels that they need to invest in the team’s psychological well-being.
However, with most domestic teams yet to consider investing in team psychologists, Ndiraya has to improvise.
For his team to stay grounded, Ndiraya said senior players should lead the youngsters on and off the pitch in the demanding race.
“We are fairly new in this zone but we have big names who have been here before, they have won the championship in the past and have the experience,” he said.
“We expect them to lead; here I am talking of Walter Musona, Perfect Chikwende, Blessing Moyo and Partson Jaure.
“They understand how it is like to be in this terrain at this stage of the league so they will lead the younger players to recover from this short setback.”
The former Dynamos mentor blamed his side for complacency when they suffered a late 1-0 defeat to Herentals at Rufaro at the weekend.
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The School Boys’ Zibusiso Ruguchu netted the solitary goal in the second half’s stoppage time.
“We did not play like we wanted to win the championship, it was a poor game by our standards and in the end it made us drop points.
“This could also be an issue of loss of form perhaps due to an international break.
“I think psychologically we were also a bit complacent. Maybe it was because of the success that we have had in the last 12 games.
“Overall we need to pick ourselves up and do much better.
“A string of 12 games unbeaten, we knew that one day we would lose and I guess this is the day so we have to hastily pick ourselves up and focus on the next game.”
He urged his boys to maintain the six-point log lead if they are to win the title.
“We still have a six-point cushion which I believe can be maintained only if we bounce back to winning ways quickly,” said the coach.
“We had done ourselves good by creating that huge buffer but still the six points is good, it is an advantage for us.
“I am confident that we will bounce back and what is key for us now is to win all our home games, that way we can reach the promised land.”
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