By Sports Reporter

HIGHLANDERS got their Premier Soccer League campaign back on track with a hard-fought 1-0 victory against army side Black Rhinos at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday while FC Platinum moved to the top of the table after edging Cranborne Bullets by a similar score line at Mandava.

It was however a frustrating afternoon for Caps United after they were held to a goalless draw against their bogey side Ngezi Platinum Stars at Baobab in Mhondoro-Ngezi.

The pressure was firmly on Highlanders ahead of this weekend’s matches after they dropped points during a goalless draw in their opening match against ZPC Kariba at home last week.

The Bulawayo giants, who have in the recent past struggled to secure wins away from home produced a solid display to secure a hard-fought win courtesy of a 57th-minute strike from Bosso 90 graduate McKinnon Mushore.

It was Mushore’s first goal on his first start, Bosso, after coming in the second half in the ZPC Kariba stalemate.

“He is new to the senior team, and I am happy for him, he played very well today and he showed quality. We hope that he improves from what he showed today in the next encounters,” Highlanders coach Baltermar Jose De Oliveira Brito said of the match-winner after the match.

In Zvishavane, FC Platinum also needed a solitary goal which was scored by Brian Banda as they eased past another army aside Cranborne Bullets.

FC Platinum got the all-important goal five minutes before the break when Banda found the back of the net with a neat finish after a move involving Panashe Mutimbanyoka and Gift Mbweti.

Despite the victory, Mapeza feels his players are yet to reach the optimum fitness levels he desires.

“Our players are yet to reach the level of fitness that we want and I’m still coming up with combinations to strengthen the team,” Mapeza said.

“Today’s performance shows that we have areas to improve especially when it comes to the final pass.

“Brian Banda gave us the goal but I feel we could have won it with a wider margin. We really need to score as many goals, when we create chances.

“Of course, I’m happy that we are able to create those chances and now the work is on improving our conversion rate.”

In Mhondoro-Ngezi, Harare giants CAPS United failed to build on their win against Manica Diamonds in last week’s season opener after settling for a goalless draw against Ngezi Platinum Stars in a lunchtime kick-off at the Baobab.

CAPS United have now drawn four times and lost two times in six visits to the platinum miners’ home turf.

However, the draw saw the Green Machine end a two-match losing streak in Mhondoro-Ngezi.

At Luveve Stadium in Bulawayo, Chicken Inn registered their first win of the new campaign after defeating Simba Bhora 1-0 to hand the newcomers their second successive defeat.

Premiership new boys Green Fuel’s wait for their first win in the topflight league continues after they were held to a 1-1 draw against Herentals at Gibbo

Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Results and Fixtures

Saturday: Black Rhinos 0-1 Highlanders, FC Platinum 1-0 Cranborne Bullets, Chicken Inn 1-0 Simba Bhora, Green Fuel 1-1 Herentals, Ngezi Platinum 0-0 CAPS United

Sunday: Dynamos v Sheasham (National Sports Stadium), Manica Diamonds v Triangle (Gibbo Stadium), Yadah v Hwange (Baobab)

Monday: ZPC Kariba v Bulawayo Chiefs (National Sports Stadium)