FC Oden coach Willard Katsande believes the one-week break created by the Super 8 Cup has given his side a timely opportunity to regroup and return to winning ways as the Northern Region Division One race intensifies.
Oden have endured a difficult spell in their last two league matches, collecting just one point from a possible six after suffering a defeat and a draw. The dropped points have left the Chinhoyi-based side further behind the leading title contenders, although they remain in the top four, which remains part of Katsande’s ambitions for the season.
The Super 8 Cup took centre stage at Pfupajena Stadium last weekend, with the semi-finals played on Saturday and Sunday. Although FC Oden had not qualified for the competition, Katsande viewed the break from league action as an opportunity to give his players time to recover, reflect and work on areas that needed improvement.
“I think also the gap of giving us one week before we play our next game, it also gives us time to recover and also to look into ourselves where we can improve, go back to training,” Katsande said.
With the Northern Region Division One calendar packed with midweek and weekend fixtures, the additional week between matches provided Oden with valuable preparation time.
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Katsande believes his team has made good use of the break and is now ready for Wednesday’s encounter against Shamva.
“We are ready and we're looking forward to the game and also we need to try to keep 100 percent record at home since I took over so that we're continuously improving,” he said.
The coach has also acknowledged the increasingly competitive nature of the Northern Region Division One, with teams fighting for different objectives as the season progresses.
Oden’s recent dropped points have highlighted the difficulty of maintaining consistency in a tightly contested league, but Katsande remains focused on taking each match as it comes.
“We are enjoying one game at a time. We know that Northern Region League's never be easy,” he said.
Oden now turn their attention to Shamva, who Katsande expects to provide another stern test when they visit Chinhoyi on Wednesday.
“All the teams are important because everybody's playing for something. So yeah, Shamva is another tough opponent which is gonna come to Chinhoyi, and also they have a good record with Chinhoyi teams,” he said.
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