HIGHLANDERS coach Kelvin Kaindu says the Premier League title will be decided by head-to-head matches between his club and the leaders Dynamos and Harare City.
Highlanders fell four points behind Dynamos and two behind Harare City after their 1-0 defeat to How Mine on Sunday.
But with nine matches to play, Kaindu insists his men – who missed out on the title last year on goal difference – can still overtake the leaders.
“It’s still a long way to go, nine games to be exact,” Kaindu said on Tuesday.
 
“The other good thing for us is that we are still to play the top two sides.”
Kaindu knows only Buffaloes and Harare City have scored more goals that his team, and only Dynamos have a better defensive record.
The Zambian coach insists his team is well-equipped to stop Dynamos from retaining the league title, even as the defending champions beat neighbours CAPS United 1-0 on Sunday to stay on course.
Dynamos may have the advantage but they are not celebrating either.
Veteran striker Murape Murape said: “Beating CAPS was one of the biggest hurdles that we needed to clear, but the journey continues because we have some equally difficult games ahead, most of them away.
“It’s easy to climb to the top of the table but always difficult to stay there but we will try to keep our eyes fixed on the title. We have come a long way and the distance left is now shorter.
“We need consistency and ruthlessness, concentrating only on collecting maximum points. There is no need to be big-headed because we are not champions yet.”
Remaining Fixtures for the Leaders:
 
22 21-22 SEPTEMBER 2013
 
HARARE CITY vs SHABANIE;  CAPS UTD vs TRIANGLE; HWANGE vs DYNAMOS; HIGHLANDERS vs F.C. PLATINUM
 
23 25-26 SEPT 2013 (MW)
 
SHABANIE vs CAPS UTD; CHICKEN INN vs HARARE CITY; BUFFALOES vs HIGHLANDERS; DYNAMOS vs MONOMOTAPA; TRIPPLE B F.C. vs PLATINUM
 
24 28/29 SEPTEMBER 2013
 
CAPS UTD vs CHICKEN INN; HARARE CITY vs BLACK MAMBAS; F.C. PLATINUM vs DYNAMOS; HIGHLANDERS vs TRIPPLE B
 
25 12-13 OCTOBER 2013
 
BLACK MAMBAS vs CAPS UTD; HOW MINE vs HARARE CITY; BLACK RHINOS vs HIGHLANDERS; TRIANGLE F.C. vs PLATINUM; DYNAMOS vs TRIPPLE B
 
26 19-20 OCTOBER 2013
 
F.C. PLATINUM vs SHABANIE; CAPS UTD vs HOW MINE; HARARE CITY vs BUFFALOES; HIGHLANDERS vs DYNAMOS
 
27 23-24 0CTOBER 2013 (MW)
CHICKEN INN F.C. vs PLATINUM; BUFFALOES vs CAPS UTD; BLACK RHINOS vs HARARE CITY; MOTOR ACTION vs HIGHLANDERS; TRIANGLE vs DYNAMOSAdvertisement

28 26-27 OCTOBER 2013
DYNAMOS vs SHABANIE; F.C. PLATINUM vs BLACK MAMBAS; CAPS UTD vs BLACK RHINOS; HARARE CITY vs MOTOR ACTION; HIGHLANDERS vs TRIANGLE
29 02-03 NOVEMBER 2013
 
CHICKEN INN vs DYNAMOS; HOW MINE F.C. vs PLATINUM; MOTOR ACTION vs CAPS UTD; HARARE CITY vs HIGHLANDERS
 
30 16-17 NOVEMBER 2013
HIGHLANDERS vs SHABANIE; DYNAMOS vs BLACK MAMBAS; F.C. PLATINUM vs BUFFALOES; CAPS UTD vs HARARE CITY