Bruce Chikuni — Highlanders are visiting MWOS this Saturday to wrap up their pre-season campaign, with the 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League action set to get underway on the first weekend of March. It is an action-packed weekend in Mashonaland West, with Ngezi Platinum scheduled to play Dynamos in the Castle Challenge Cup at Baobab on the same day.

This will be the Punters' third match on the spin against the country's big three clubs.

DeMbare were their first guests and they settled for a goalless draw while Lloyd Mutasa's men welcomed CAPS United last weekend, who recorded a 2-1 win.

This is huge for the Norton football community, which is starting to expand its horizon in local football through MWOS.

Norton had never hosted these big boys and its local football enthusiasts were largely fed in doses of ZIFA Northern Region Division One Soccer League.

MWOS president, Patrick Tamson, has shown great passion in injecting hope into the community, which produced Knowledge and Walter Musona.

MWOS fans have also responded well by coming out in numbers to cheer their team against the top-flight monsters.

Mutasa said fixtures of this size will help his side see the bigger picture and also boost their mental strength.

The team's recruit Evidence Tendai said they are ready to upset Bosso.

Tendai joined Punters from Harare City.

"We are in good spirits and we are preparing to meet the expectations of our fans who have been supportive in all our friendly matches.

"We picked some positives from our last game against CAPS United and we played better, but we were just unfortunate to lose. "At this moment, the coaches are trying many things and we are pushing each other to the limits," said Tendai. The Northern Region is expected to kick-start on the first week of April with MWOS among the pre-season favourites alongside Golden Eagles, Black Mambas, Harare City, and Trojan Stars.