Tadious Manyepo and Fungai Muderere

MWOS are wobbling. Five games, five points, and last season’s surprise package suddenly looks like a side trying to remember what made it tick.

The Norton outfit haven’t found their rhythm early in this Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign. The signs are there now, the second-season slump creeping into a team that was fearless just a few months ago.

They head to Wadzanayi this afternoon to face newcomers Agama, needing a result.

Not just for points, but for a bit of calm.

This time last year, MWOS were flying. Eleven points from five games. Three wins, two draws. Momentum already building toward that stunning second-place finish.

Now they are chasing.

Coach Lloyd Mutasa is keeping it together, at least on the surface.

“It’s a matter of small margins,” said Mutasa.

“I think we shouldn’t be too early to panic. We aren’t yet too much behind.

“We should take each game at it comes. We have dropped a lot of points to our liking in the first five games of the season.

“Agama isn’t exactly struggling. They have shown that they are a very tricky side playing at home. We have been trying to motivate our players as usual and I think we should be able to collect all the points against Agama and see what happens next.”

The numbers don’t lie. Five points from 15. A side that once went 16 games unbeaten now looks unsure, lacking that bite that made them difficult to beat.

Continuity was meant to carry them.

They lost Nigel Matinha and goalkeeper Martin Mapisa from the core, with Abubakar Moffat also moving on after joining midway through last season. Not wholesale changes. But enough to disturb the balance.

“In a way, that disrupted us but I don’t think the disturbance should be felt because we managed to retain all the other players,” said Mutasa.

“We are certainly the same team that was there last year. It’s just a matter of tying up some ends and getting things right.

“That way, we can pick ourselves up again. We know the second season was always going to be tough but I think we shouldn’t allow psychology to get the better of us.”

They know how quickly things can swing.

They’ve seen it before. They’ve lived it. And they’ve also seen what Simba Bhora did, turning a second season into a title run.

Midfielder Valentine Katsande isn’t rattled.

“We haven’t started the season the way we had anticipated,” said Katsande.

“But certainly we will pull and rise again. Last season we were the runners-up and we are looking to doing well this season.”

For now, though, the reality is simple.

MWOS are no longer setting the pace. They are chasing it. And they are not alone.

Highlanders are in a hole.

Thirteen games without a win. Last victory came in September. Five draws this season and still no breakthrough.

Now the champions are waiting.

Rufaro Stadium hosts a heavyweight clash this afternoon, but for Bosso this is no longer just another fixture. It’s a test of nerve, belief and whether this team can still find a way out.

Benjani Mwaruwari knows where it is going wrong. His side is not short of effort, but goals have dried up and patience is thinning.

“We did well against FC Platinum, we are only missing it in the final third,” said Mwaruwari.

“It’s not going to be easy against Scottland FC. We have to keep on working hard to prove more. Everyone wants us to score, and we also want to do so; the boys need to be calm in front of goal. I believe that at the moment we will start to score we will start getting the positive results.”

The numbers are starting to bite.

Five straight draws this season have kept them afloat, but they have also stretched a win-less run that now stands at 13 matches.

For a club of Highlanders’ size, that is pressure territory.

And the timing could not be worse.

Scottland, the defending champions, arrive with a squad that looks settled and a coach who is not entertaining any talk of disruption.

“Everything is okay on this Easter holiday. We are at work playing TelOne. The games are coming thick and fast. There is no room to mourn. We have no injuries ahead of our game against Highlanders. We have nothing to worry about.”

While Bosso search for answers in front of goal, Scottland carry the calm of a side that knows how to get results. That contrast will be hard to ignore once the whistle goes.

Elsewhere, Chicken Inn welcome league newcomers FC Hunters at Barbourfields Stadium.”