BY FORTUNE MBELE
WITH Highlanders out of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title race following a false start in their campaign, top striker Prince Dube has promised to atone for the club supporters’ disappointment by delivering the Chibuku Super Cup.
Dube, who has been in top-form in the cup competition, is expected to lead Bosso’s charge as they engage ZPC Kariba in a Chibuku Super semi-final tie at Barbourfields Stadium this afternoon.
After being threatened with relegation for the better part of the season, the rejuvenated Bulawayo giants have gone 11 matches without defeat.
And the 22-year-old striker has been instrumental in that resurgence, which has seen Highlanders rise to position seven on the log-table. Dube, who was also in top form during the locally-based Warriors’ successful CHAN qualification campaign, has also scored two goals in the Chibuku Super Cup against Dynamos and FC Platinum.
His solitary goal on September 29 at Rufaro Stadium eliminated Dynamos out of the Chibuku Super Cup in the first round and last month he was on target when the Bulawayo giants saw off FC Platinum 3-0 in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Ahead of the tie against ZPC Kariba today, Dube says he has been playing well but that just he had not struck the right chord in finding his scoring formula and hopes to continue from where he left when they clobbered FC Platinum to reach the final of the Chibuku Super Cup.
“I will continue from where I left and score goals and if we get to the final it will be a great feat. Winning this trophy will be a good present for our supporters, who have rallied behind us even when the chips were down. They have supported us all the way in good and in bad times so they deserve this present,” Dube said.
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Expectations were high for Dube to deliver at the start of the season when he returned from a failed stint with SuperSport United in South Africa but he initially found the going tough as the pressure of leading Bosso’s attack appeared to weigh him down.
“It is not like I was not playing well. It’s just that I was not getting into those good scoring positions and not using the opportunities that I got.
I believe as Highlanders we have always been playing the same game and it was only a matter of time. The winning mentality was not there back then and we have now found it,” Dube said.
Dube will be eager to ensure Bosso continue with their fine form since the arrival of Dutch coach Hendrikus Pieter de Jongh at the end of September.
Bosso have not lost a game under De Jongh in eight outings, winning three and playing three draws and in addition to the good run in the Chibuku Super Cup, a tournament in which Highlanders has not reached the final since it was re-introduced in 2014.
