TAWANDA CHARI
Author’s note: I started writing this piece last weekend after matchday 17 focusing on two specific teams. The piece got put on hold due to work and website was also down but then I noticed I needed to make a league wide article. Edits have been made to account for matchday 18.
HARARE – It’s been 18 matchdays of the Zimbabwe Castle Lager Premier Soccer League action. Enough time, you’d think, to separate the pretenders from the contenders. And in many ways, the 2025 season has delivered on that front.
Earlier this year, I penned a pair of pre-season articles – one focused on Simba Bhora and Scottland FC’s divergent strategies, the other questioning the league’s long-standing relationship with low-scoring football. With the league now at its halfway mark, it’s only right to revisit those takes, measure their accuracy and reflect on what’s played out on the turf.
Simba Bhora vs. Scottland FC: A tale retold
“Rebuild vs Reload” – that was the framing back in March. And Simba Bhora have, against odds, flipped the script.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: few expected Simba Bhora to be top of the league by Matchday 17. Especially after their offseason exodus as Mthokozisi Msebe, Tichaona Chipunza and Talbert Shumba all packed their bags for “greener” pastures.
After matchday 18, they sit in second place with 36 points, just one point behind MWOS—with the latter turning out to be a surprise in the 2025 season.
About Simba Bhora, the general sentiment was clear: the reigning champs had lost too much too quickly. There were serious doubts about whether they could handle a league campaign from that state.
But here they are.
Simba Bhora have amassed 36 points, second on the log, and with the fewest goals conceded (8).
They’ve adapted. Not by outscoring teams but by choking them. The new look side has leaned heavily on compactness and hitting teams on the transition. Their 21 goals may not scream attacking flair, but in this league, it’s enough to win matches.
Verdict? - Prediction missed. But credit earned.
This isn't a club in transition, it's one quietly evolving into a new PSL powerhouse.
Scottland FC: The “star power meets structure” theory ...
On the flip side, Scottland FC had or have all the ingredients of a title push. A well coached unit in Division 1 bolstered by key Simba Bhora arrivals. Continuity at the top. Plus stability in the boardroom (cash).
And for a while, it worked in the top flight.
Scottland hovered around the top four, even holding the best goal difference in early rounds. But now, fourth place with 28 points after 17 games, they’ve lost some steam. They’ve scored 16 and conceded 8. Decent numbers but recent performances suggest a team struggling to impose itself against lower-ranked opposition.
The star players haven’t lit up the league as expected. Tactical tinkering and perhaps more likely the weight of expectations have slowed them down.
Verdict? - Prediction partially right.
They’re clearly stronger than most of the league season, but calling them outright title contenders now feels slightly premature.
The goal drought: Looks like déjà vu all over again
With each matchday, we are often left with no option but to ask ourselves this pressing question: why aren’t Zimbabwean clubs scoring enough goals?
ALSO READ: Why aren't Zimbabwean clubs scoring enough goals?
That was the question. And sadly, half a season later, it remains the same. Just louder.
Take a look at the league’s top scoring teams by Matchday 17:
• MWOS FC – 22 goals
• Simba Bhora – 21 goals
• TelOne FC – 20 goals
That’s 1.2 – 1.3 goals per match. No team has hit 25 goals.
At the other end, Kwekwe United have shipped a ridiculous 34 goals and are rock bottom with 8 points. Yet, even against such leaky defences, the league’s top sides haven’t exploded offensively.
Here’s what hasn’t changed:
• Stadiums are still inconsistent in quality.
• Coaches still lean on pragmatism.
• Teams still favour physicality over flair.
• And the production line for top strikers? Still dry.
Even giants like FC Platinum and Dynamos (with games in hand) are barely averaging a goal a game. Chicken Inn, historically a decent attacking side, have scored just 14 goals.
We’re once again on track for a season where the champions might lift the trophy with fewer than 40 goals.
Verdict? - Nailed it. The drought continues.
Then the struggling Dynamos FC
It’s almost painful to say out loud, but here we are: Dynamos Football Club, 22-time league champions, are 17th on the PSL table! Just 15 points from 17 games. Just 6 goals scored all season. Yes, six. That’s not a typo. It’s a full-blown crisis.
The club’s latest chapter in what has become a season of spiraling chaos was a bizarre decision to walk off the pitch in their match against FC Platinum, protesting a clear penalty awarded against them. Let’s be blunt — it was a penalty. And walking off, in the face of looming relegation, wasn’t just petulant, it was incredibly unwise.
Dynamos have now scored fewer goals than any other team in the league, including bottom placed Kwekwe United, who at least manage to find the net (even if they concede at comical rates). The Glamour Boys, on the other hand, look toothless up front, fragile at the back and increasingly clueless in crisis.
A team of this stature, this history, should not be fighting for survival. But unless something dramatic shifts — tactically, mentally, structurally, Dynamos FC are heading for the unthinkable: relegation.
There’s no glamour in 17th place. Only shame and relegation.
Final word: Preseason predictions vs PSL realities
The beauty of football is its unpredictability. On paper, Simba Bhora looked like a team preparing for damage control, instead, they’ve built a new spine and sit at the summit.
Scottland FC were tipped to soar and while they’ve not flopped, they haven’t exactly flown either.
And as for goals? Well, PSL fans are still waiting for the floodgates to open.
But here’s the bottom line:
• Simba Bhora may be rewriting the playbook on what a “rebuild” looks like. They will likely win the PSL again.
• Scottland FC still have time to prove the hype was justified.
• Dynamos looks like they will be relegated.
• And the PSL still desperately needs someone, anyone, to score like they mean it. It won't happen but we can hope.
We’ll be back at season’s end.
Here's how the log table looks:
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