Zambian coach Kelvin Kaindu will have to wait a little longer to achieve his dream of winning a league title in Zimbabwe after Hardrock FC was held to a goalless draw by Simba Bhora on Saturday.
The result has pushed the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League title race to the final day, with defending champions Scottland FC keeping their hopes alive following a convincing 4-0 victory over Herentals.
Hardrock remains top of the standings with 70 points, just two ahead of Scottland, who have 68 points heading into the decisive final round of matches.
For Kaindu, the wait for a first league championship in Zimbabwe continues, having come agonizingly close on two previous occasions with Highlanders FC in 2012 and 2013.
On both occasions, the Zambian tactician finished second after losing out to Dynamos FC on goal difference.
This time, however, Kaindu has an opportunity to finally get over the line with Hardrock, who are chasing the league title in their maiden season in Zimbabwe’s top flight.
The coach admitted that his side had let an important opportunity slip against Simba Bhora, blaming a lack of composure in front of goal despite creating several scoring chances.
“Very difficult game. This is a game that we have lost, probably mentally, because we played a team that had no chance. I don’t know how many chances we had,” Kaindu said in his post-match interview.
“We have to focus” – Kaindu.
He felt Hardrock could have settled the contest much earlier, particularly with the opportunities they created in the opening half and towards the closing stages.
“Just the lack of composure also made us lose this game. I think we have to focus on the game that is coming. We created a lot of chances. We could have wrapped it up in the first half or probably in the last few minutes,” he said.
Despite the disappointing result, Kaindu insists his attention is not on Scottland’s performance but on what his own team must do to finish the job.
“We are not looking at how Scottland is doing. I think destiny is just in our own hands. It is up to us to make a decision on what we want,” he said.
Hardrock now heads into the final fixture, knowing that only victory would secure a historic league title in their first season in the top flight, while any slip could open the door for Scotland to capitalize.
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