GWERU – Newsboys Sheasham continue with their preparations for a maiden dance in the premier league with a friendly match against Highlanders on Saturday at Ascot in Gweru.
Sheasham who won promotion into the top flight league without losing a match in the Central Region Soccer League last year, have so far played against Dynamos and Black Rhinos as they seek to fine tune their squad ahead of the 2023 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season which is expected to begin next month.
John Nyikadzino the Sheasham coach said playing against giants Dynamos and Highlanders who have a large fan base will help his players to have mental strength to play before huge crowds.
“Highlanders and Dynamos are the most supported teams in Zimbabwe so playing against them will help my players a lot in terms of their mental aptitude,” Nyikadzino said.
“So playing Highlanders will help us significantly such that when we are going to face them in the league, the players would have had a feeling of how it is playing against a club with such a huge following.
“Remember most of our players will be playing in the premier league for the first time and at times some players suffer from stage fright. But once they would have played them before, they would have settled their nerves and it won’t be a problem.”
“We are chosing our opponents wisely because it’s not just about mental aspect alone but we are looking at all the facets of the game.
“We played Black Rhinos because we wanted to measure our fitness levels and endurance since you know that Rhinos are one of the fittest teams in the country. So we are looking at all aspects of the game and we are looking forward to playing more friendly matches.”
Sheasham recently completed the signing of former Dynamos midfielder Tanaka Chidhobha as well as ex-WhaWha captain Roy Useni.
The two had a telling effect on the team last weekend when they combined for Sheasham’s goal in the 1-1 draw against Black Rhinos.
The club which kept faith in a number of players that won them promotion into the PSL, have also brought in Munyaradzi Chirwa from WhaWha, Diego Tatenda Makurumidze and Tichaona Zota Macheka from CAPS United.
Future Sibanda, Leonard Jani, Simba Chimanikire and Parkington Mazhawu are some of the new faces at the club.
Meanwhile Dynamos take on Cranborne Bullets at Vengere stadium in Rusape while on Sunday Black Rhinos have a date against Simba Bhora at Chinhoyi stadium.
