FC Platinum coach Joel Luphahla is fretting over the fitness of Jarrison Selemani, who was injured during the just ended Mukuru 4 Nations Cup.
Selemani, a vital cog at FC Platinum, is likely to miss Friday’s clash against Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium, a match Luphahla desperately needs to win to reduce pressure.
The former Warriors winger admits his team isn’t living up to their billing, with one win, two draws, and a loss in their first four games.
They have recorded one win over Manica Diamonds, two draws with Hunters and TelOne FC, and a loss to Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Luphahla is frustrated with how they have conceded goals, throwing away leads against TelOne and Ngezi Platinum Stars. FC Platinum sit on 10th position, with five points.
Joel Luphahla during training. Picture by FC Platinum/Facebook
LUPAHLA’S HONEST ASSESSMENT OF HIS TEAM
Addressing a press conference in Zvishavane on Wednesday, Luphahla was blunt, taking responsibility for all their failures.
“As a coach, I’m not happy and I know it’s my responsibility to stop that rot. The team’s playing well, we’re scoring goals, but we’re conceding. That’s a coach’s problem that needs to be solved.”
Lupahla is pleading for time to gel: “I raise my hand and say yes, we still need a bit of time. We’re conceding not because we don’t have a good defence, we have one of the best defences in the league. But I think maybe it’s the combinations and understanding here and there.”
Most importantly, Luphahla is hoping for a strong performance against Highlanders:
“You labelled Barbourfields a fortress, but we have actually had some great results there as FC Platinum. We have done really well at Barbourfields Stadium.
“I’m hoping that when we go to Barbourfields Stadium, we’ll continue with our rich form in front of goals and make sure we try by all means not to concede. Because when you score two goals, you have to win.”
The former Warriors winger is confident the international break helped them recover: “We’re confident that this break we had, the time we’ve had with the boys, is going to make us better. We owe it to the fans… they’ve been amazing, magnificent in their support.”
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