BULAWAYO - Munyaradzi Diya became Highlanders' leading goal scorer after grabbing a brace in his team's 4-1 victory over visiting Shabanie Mine here on Sunday.
The Bosso goalkeeper struck twice from the penalty spot to give his team a 2-0 first half lead while the other two goals came from Knox Mtizwa and Milton Ncube in the second half.
Shabanie Mine got their face saver through former Highlanders and Motor Action midfielder Louis Matawu.
Diya first struck on eight minutes when his spot kick beat his opposite number Victor Twaliki all systems out following a handling offence inside the penalty box by Shabanie defender Smart Muchabaiwa.
The Bosso keeper then added to his tally two minutes before the half time break when he converted another spot kick after referee Bekezela Makeka penalised Shabanie linkman Hardlife Mavundi for tripping Ncube inside the penalty box.
After the match Diya expressed his gratitude to his teammates for putting their faith in his penalty taking prowess.
"It always feels great to score but the glory is not mine alone.
"God willing I will continue to score if I get more opportunities to do so and help the team achieve its goals," Diya said.
Mtizwa, who endured a love hate relationship with the Bosso fans for his inconsistent performance, easily tapped home a searching cross by Ncube just before the hour mark to extend Highlanders' lead.
The goal proved to be his last contribution to the match as he was replaced by Rahman Kutsanzira on the hour mark.
Kutsanzira, who was making his first appearance for Highlanders following a spell on the sidelines through injury, came in alongside Gabriel Nyoni who replaced Charles Sibanda.
Nyoni failed to finish the game though as he went off injured on 76 minutes following a tackle from behind by a Shabanie defender that went unpunished by Makeka.
The changes saw Highlanders losing momentum as Matawu began to dictate proceedings in midfield and his industry was rewarded when his long range effort beat Diya on 62 minutes.
After reducing the arrears Shabanie began to smell blood and threatened to overrun Highlanders but an inviting cross from Allen Tavarwisa found no takers on 68 minutes.
Highlanders managed to weather the storm though and Ncube's injury time header off a Welcome Ndiweni corner kick killed off the contest.
Highlanders stand-in coach Mark Mathe described his team's victory as being positive in that they managed to score a number of goals.
"It was a good outing and the positive thing is that we managed to score four goals.
"We took the foot of the pedal in the second half and that made us lose concentration but the good thing is that we managed to regroup," Mathe said.
His Shabanie Mine counterpart John Phiri was not happy with the match officiating.
"We were outplayed by Highlanders although the first two goals were dubious.
"We will have to go back to the drawing board and do better next time," Phiri said.
Kick off was delayed due to a stand-off between match commissioner Sabelo Maphosa and Highlanders over licences for the technical team and the match only got underway following intervention by Zimbabwe Football Association vice president Omega Sibanda.
Teams
Highlanders: Munya Diya, Simon Munawa, Bruce Kangwa, Dumisani Ndlovu, Innocent Mapuranga, Erick Mudzingwa, Knox Mutizwa, Mthulisi Maphosa, Milton Ncube, Charles Sibanda and Kuda Mahachi.
Shabanie: Victor Twaliki, Godknows Murwira, Merson Nelson, Smart Muchabaiwa, Rodney Mware, Hardlife Mavundi, Zvikomborero Bizeki, Luis Matawu, Talbott Mtombeni, Allen Tavarwisa and Carlos Mesi.