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DIAMOND HARVEST . . . Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu right, gets his gold medal from Mbada Diamonds chief executive, Patience Khumalo at Barbourfields on Saturday. — Picture: Aaron Nyamayaro

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
SEVEN years of pain, heartbreak and the burden of carrying the weight of souls battered by perennial failure came to an end on Saturday as Highlanders turned on a majestic performance at Barbourfields to win the 2013 Mbada Diamonds Cup final in style.
The Bulawayo giants, without a major trophy since Methembe Ndlovu made them champions in 2006, ended a lengthy barren spell with an explosive performance, dripping in quality that was at times spiced with a touch of arrogance, which overwhelmed How Mine 3-0 and made a mockery of their giant-killing status in this tournament.

Goals from Njabulo Ncube, who announced after the match that he will play another season for his hometown club, the outstanding Peter “Rio” Moyo, who recovered from a shaky start to produce the best individual show of the match and Masimba Mambare, powered Bosso to a victory that sent the City of Kings into festive celebrations.

A capacity crowd at Barbourfields had roared their men to a big victory that gave their hard-working and humble coach, Kelvin Kaindu, his first piece of silverware since arriving at Bosso last year with the mandate to breathe life into a huge franchise that, by the high standards they had set at the turn of the millennium, had performed miserably since winning their last championship in 2006.

Having failed again this season to win the championship, beaten again by bitter rivals Dynamos on goal difference, Highlanders came under severe criticism for the way they choked, whenever the pressure mounted, and donated some big points to surrender a marathon they were in control of as it entered the home stretch.

The last time they had played a big home game, ironically against a team that wore an identical blue-and-white Adidas strip that How Mine used on Saturday, Highlanders conceded a late goal, from the penalty spot, which brought DeMbare firmly back into the championship race on an afternoon where a draw would have effectively eliminated the champions.

Questions about their mental strength, especially when it came to the pressure games, stalked Bosso as they walked onto the pitch at Barbourfields on Saturday to be greeted by thousands of their expectant fans who, for all the public confidence they expressed that this was their moment of triumph, hid souls that were being tormented by doubts that their dreams could come crashing down.

That they had lost to the same opponents in their two league matches this season, didn’t help, in calming the nerves but, to their eternal credit, Bosso stamped their authority for long periods in this game, making a disappointing How Mine look very ordinary, and were full value for their emphatic victory.

Their defence was rarely tested but it was their midfielders who seized control of the game, playing with pace, trickery and energy, and that Moyo and Mambare were the outstanding performers on the afternoon put into context how Bosso outplayed their rivals in this crucial department and built a firm foundation for their success.

Bosso fans had waited, for a long time, to see this day when their team would turn on the show, in a big game, and the capacity crowd at Barbourfields was given full value for their money by a Highlanders team that never looked back once Ncube gave them the opener after hesitancy by the usually reliable Ephraim Mazarura opened a little window for them after an attack down the right channel.

Midfielder Moyo, who was the conductor of the Bosso orchestra with a superb individual performance on the big stage, doubled their advantage, which capped a good day at the office for the buzzing linkman who made the veterans in the How Mine midfield and defence look very much their ages.

He also provided the moment, apart from the goals, which sent Barbourfields into delirium when, with the game effectively sealed in the second half, he decided to showboat, partly removing his jersey and then pretending to use it to wipe off the sweat on his face, sending the message that they were so much in control they could afford even to cover their vision, for a moment, but still retain possession.
But this was by no means a one-man show.

This was a script of success written by a team that badly wanted this silverware, to silence those critics who had begun to call them chokers, and to show the country that they had quality, in their ranks, which could win trophies after coming close, in the past two seasons in the championship, only to run into the DeMbare wall.

Highlanders simply imposed themselves on their opponents, once they found their rhythm, and their control of the midfield gave them the platform to keep attacking How Mine who, by the end of the match, had clearly been outrun and should consider themselves lucky that, in the end, this didn’t turn into a humiliation.

“I thank God that we have finally won, having worked under very difficult conditions,” Kaindu, who remained composed even in his hour of triumph, said after the game.

“It is a result of hard work, everyone has really put in maximum effort and we are happy with this. I think all realists can attest to the fact that we have done well with the resources at our disposal . . .”

Kaindu will hope that this big victory will provide the breakthrough that his team had been looking for to start winning big things, including the championship, and if they can play as well as they did on Saturday, under such intense pressure, they have every reason to believe.

Critics will point to the fact that How Mine were ordinary, having been overwhelmed by the occasion, but one also needs to give Bosso their credit for making their opponents look so horribly out of depth at this level with a performance that sucked life out of Philani “Beefy” Ncube’s men.

This was vintage Bosso, and just as well there was a huge army of their fans, who have never stopped believing in this team and everything it represents, to celebrate the golden moment when Highlanders finally ended their lengthy wait for a big trophy.
Could this be the beginning of a successful phase for Bosso?

That’s tough to answer because they won’t be playing and outrunning How Mine every week, when it comes to the championship, and they won’t always have the comforts of a capacity crowd at Barbourfields to push them forward, as was the case on Saturday, because in the marathon you also have to play far away from home.

But what can’t be questioned is the fact that this Bosso team now knows that they can also win big things, and Saturday’s victory will help to sort out their mental weaknesses that have betrayed their undoubted talent, and at the post-tournament celebrations they looked like a united team ready to road again.