By Alvin Moyo, Football Writer
Mandla Mpofu must fear he will not survive the next couple of weeks as Black Rhinos made easy work of the Bulawayo side on Saturday (Nov 6) the first weekend of Castle Premier Soccer League matches.
Mpofu is staring down the barrel after his side’s limp 2-0 defeat by army side, which came two weeks after being dumped out of the Chibuku Super Cup by FC Platinum.
Highlanders’ bosses have resisted pulling the trigger despite Highlanders’ poor results but Caps United have acted decisively, sacking Darlington Dodo.
Elsewhere, Bulawayo Chiefs showed they mean business by upsetting Triangle while Tonderai Ndiraya continues to grind out result after result as Dynamos looks to reassert themselves as kings of the local game.
Ezemidlalo.net picks out some of the key talking points from the action in the Zimbabwe top flight.
Sack race
One Premier League manager has already parted ways with their club this season as executives start to get jittery.
Struggling Caps United fired Dodo on last week and many coaches’ jobs are already hanging in the balance after only one round of league matches. Many have had half chances to build decent squads and improve tactics during the Super Cup, and this will encourage clubs to have the wherewithal to fire their coaches even though the league is its infancy.
Bosso are effectively among the six clubs that are pointless after Round One. Others in this group of losers are Cranborne Bullets who fell to Chicken Inn in Bulawayo on Saturday, Tenax who were bloodied 6-1 by FC Platinum, Bulawayo City whose 5-0 away defeat to Ngezi Platinum Stars exposed Philani ‘Beefy’ Ncube’s young side.
Triangle are anchored right along with the best (or worst) of them but still feel they deserved a share of the points on the travels to face Bulawayo Chiefs in Bulawayo on Sunday.
Prisons side Whawha were walloped 4-0 at Manica Diamond and the writing could very week be on the walk for their coach, Luke Petros-Jukulile.
The club’s unpopular American owners have tended to act only when the riches of Champions League football come under threat.
But Dodo’s firing from a club with far fewer resources means Mpofu will again be the man under scrutiny during the course of the next couple of weeks as his lads prep for a home tie gains.
Terreso announces his arrival
Bulawayo Chiefs boss Nilton Terreso strode triumphantly around the Luveve Stadium pitch soaking up the acclaim from jubilant fans after a 1-0 win against Triangle on Sunday.
Terreso’s side was written off as a failure at the highest level after consistently battling just stay up, but it looks like the ex-Cardiff backroom staff member could very well carve out a good, solid reputation for both himself and the club.
It appears Terreso is not just to enhance his CV, but to manage a side towards success and a quality of football that will earn them mor rave reviews than even their Twitter handle can muster.
Chiefs sit among the eight teams that kicked off the season with wins after an astute tactical display exposed the flaws in Taurai Mangwiro’s attacking game plan.
“It was an exciting game. However, it was difficult for us in the last stages of the game where I thought we were not organised as we should have been. It is nice to get off to a positive start,” said Terreso.
