Harare City now target top eight
HARARE City believe they can finish the championship race in the top eight following their finest start to the season.
The Sunshine City Boys have amassed nine points from five starts and are yet to taste defeat.
The team was relegated last season and were preparing for life in the ZIFA Northern Region Division One but bounced back after taking How Mine’s franchise following the latter’s collapse.
And they have punched well above their weight in the initial stages of the marathon, prompting the team’s management to revise their target to a topeight finish.
Initially, coach Mark Harrison had said they were targeting to survive the chop this season but after a decent display in the first five games of the season, secretary-general Mathew Marara, one of the finest football administrators in the country, said they were now eying a place in the top eight.
He said they would not put much pressure on their technical team, led superbly by Englishman Mark Harrison, but said a top-eight finish was now a priority.
“We were not supposed to have been relegated in the first place,’’ said Marara. “That’s the truth of the matter but, unfortunately, it’s a situation which befell us.
“We lost focus towards the finishing line and tended to concentrate much on winning the Chibuku Super Cup, and forgot that we had a slot to protect in the Premiership.
“That’s what actually happened but we deserved to be in the Premiership. “That is why we are now doing well. “We are not actually fighting for the championship but we are fighting for a top-eight finish, that’s our target. Indeed, this is our best start in recent years and it’s mainly attributable to the technical team that we assembled this year.
“They understand the type of football which we expect at Harare City. We want entertaining football, a passing game whereby we give spectators value for money rather than the kickand-run type.”
Harare City face title contenders FC Platinum, who are also still to taste defeat, on Saturday at Mandava.
It will be Harrison’s toughest test to date even though the Englishman says that their goalless draw against CAPS United was some work of art.
“Our chances (of winning) against FC Platinum are very high because we basically play the same type of football with them,’’ said Marara.
“I bet it is going to be one of the best games in the top-flight so far this season. Our chances are high and we are confident. It’s going to be a battle between two teams which are both unbeaten so far.
“We emphasised to our technical team that they should not drop points unnecessarily at the beginning of the season because once you fail to maintain a respectable slot at the beginning of the season, it becomes difficult to chase the teams which will be ahead of you.
“We should maintain a place in the top-eight throughout the season. We are also happy that the technical team is giving room to the players to express themselves.’’
Meanwhile, the team are in talks with an unnamed Division One club to loan out striker Grey Kufandada.
“It’s a year’s loan. We are still in talks with a club in the Eastern Region Division One which is interested in his services because we want him to have consistent game time.
“We will soon announce the club once the deal is complete,” said Marara.