Ndiraya's Youth Brigade

SCOTTLAND coach Tonderai Ndiraya is happy with the progress being made by his youth brigade -led by Nathan Mutasa and Tadiwanashe Chakuchichi -in a squad dominated by veterans whose future in the game is now short-term.

Mutasa, who made it to the start XI, and Chakuchichi, a second half substitute, featured in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bikita Minerals in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Rufaro. 

It was Mutasa’s second appearance after a second half introduction in the 1-1 draw away to Highlanders at Barbourfields the previous week while Chakuchichi was making his debut for Scottland.

Ndiraya believes they will help him address the issue of age in the team as most of the key squad members are around 30 years old. 

“We have Nathan Mutasa, who is coming from Spain, and we played him in our last match because he is getting to adapt to local Premiership conditions. He is adapting very well at training and the part he played in Saturday’s game you could also see that he did very well in the first 20-25 minutes. 

“For a boy who is coming from Spain to play the way he did, we are seeing progress, there is good progress. We hope he will continue to adapt and adapt quickly so that he can give us what he has. He has a lot of potential in him and hopefully he can give the team what it is looking for.”

In front of a full house at Barbourfields, Nathan was introduced late in the game with Scottland trailing 1-0 and did not seem overwhelmed by the occasion. 

He seemed comfortable and supplied a dangerous cross from the left which found no taker moments before Mthokozisi Msebe silenced the Bosso fans with a last-minute header off a cross from the right by Gareth Madhake.

“He did very well. If you look at the magnitude of the game and the fact that the team was down, he came in with a huge contribution in that match and that prompted us to start him in the next match against Bikita Minerals.

“So, he had a huge contribution in that game, and it gave him confidence. The venue was packed and for a boy who has not played in those conditions before to be able to perform the way he did really encouraged us to start him in the next match. I believe that he carried on in the next game when he made his first of the season. I would say his effort is commendable.”