By Bhora Afrika
Ten-man Highlanders defeated bitter rivals Dynamos 5-3 on penalties in the President’s Independence Cup to win their first trophy under coach Baltemar Brito.
The invitational match which was part of Zimbabwe’s 43rd independence celebrations was played at Mount Darwin High School Tuesday afternoon.
It was a highly contested encounter particularly in the first half, brewing tension and highly physical challenges, resulting in Bosso defender Andrew Mbeba being sent off for a crude tackle on DeMbare’s striker, Nyasha Chintuli.
Following the dirty tackle, referee of the day, Lawrence Zimondi did not hesitate to flash a straight red card to Mbeba, 31 minutes into the match.
Both teams searched for that crucial goal to break the deadlock in vain, and the winner had to be determined in a penalty shootout following the goalless draw in regulation time.
Peter Muduhwa sent Taimon Mvula the wrong way to score the winning penalty as Bosso secured bragging rights and retained the prestigious independence cup trophy.
Ghanaian Emmanuel Paga missed from the spot kick for the Glamour Boys after he miscued his penalty.
Brito meeting contractual obligations?
The Portuguese international Brito seems to be on the right track, meeting his contractual obligations since taking over the reigns from Mandla ‘Lulu’ Mpofu in June 2022.
Bhorafrika.com can reveal that part of the 72-year-old’s mandate is to finish the season with silverware, make the finals of 50% of cup competitions, as well as clinching the Premier Soccer League title.
As it stands, Brito has achieved one of his contractual obligations after guiding the Bulawayo giants to their tenth independence cup trophy.