How Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..0 Dynamos . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
A SECOND half strike by midfielder Walter Mukanga earned visiting Dynamos victory over How Mine in an uninspiring Castle Lager Premiership football encounter at Barbourfields yesterday as the defending champions made it two wins in a row.
BY SAKHELENI NXUMALO
Mukanga scrambled home the ball from close range on 55 minutes after the How Mine defence had failed to clear a cross from Dynamos striker Dominic Chungwa.
The victory took Dynamos’ points tally to 20 and ensured that the defending champions kept within touching distance of leaders Chicken Inn, who are on 23, but remain third as Triangle maintained second place despite losing 3-2 to FC Platinum at Mandava yesterday.
Dynamos could have won by a bigger margin had their forwards been more accurate in front of goal and head coach David Mandigora admitted in his post-match interview that his attack needs some fine-tuning.
“It was not an easy match as we played against a very good team, but we are happy that we picked up three points at a time when we were missing a number of players due to injuries and national duty.
“This shows that we have depth, but one area that we have to work on is our attack because we are creating a lot of chances but failing to put them away,” Mandigora said.
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How Mine coach Luke Masomere admitted in his post-match interview that his charges had a poor first half.
“I am disappointed with the result but at the same time I am happy with the performance that the boys put up. We were not much involved in attack in the first half but it happens in football and we look forward to a better game against Triangle in our next match,” Masomere said.
Dynamos got off the blocks quicker than How Mine and pinned the hosts in their own half but were let down by their toothless attack that had former Caps United players Dominic Chungwa and Kelvin Bulaji.
How Mine came out of their shell towards the half-hour mark and could have opened the scoring through Menard Mupera, but the veteran linkman headed straight at Dynamos goalie Tatenda Mukuruva and the rebound was sent woefully wide by How Mine right-back Morris Kadzola.
Both teams tried to grab the lead before the break with How Mine’s Timothy January drawing a save from Mukuruva on 44 minutes while Mukanga saw his header off an Ocean Mushure free kick saved by the hosts’ keeper Munyaradzi Diya moments later.
Mukanga was not to be denied though as he went on to find the target 10 minutes into the second half and his strike proved enough to earn the visitors their second consecutive victory following a lean spell.
The introduction of Kudakwashe Musharu, Benjamin Marere and Charles Sibanda in the latter stages of the game breathed life into How Mine’s attack with play concentrated in the Dynamos half for long periods.
Dynamos were not sitting back though as they tried to catch How Mine on the break, but Bulaji in particular was found wanting on a number of occasions as he slowed down play instead of going for goal.
And from one such quick counter attack Mukanga was denied his brace by the upright with seven minutes left on the clock.
After the match a number of How Mine players confronted second assistant referee Oscar Bumhe who ruled out Kadzola’s injury time effort for offside but the police details protecting the match officials kept them at bay.
Teams How Mine: M Diya, M Kadzola, M Gutu, T Khumbuyani, N Tachi, M Mupera, D Chafa, T Masuku (C Sibanda 75), T January, G Nguwodzawo (K Musharu, B Marere 65), L Chikafa.
Dynamos: T Mukuruva, B Moyo, O Mushure, A Mbara, S Linyama, M Makopa, W Mukanga, M Mambare, K Bulaji (F Mupasiri 90), D Chungwa (P Khumbula 87), O Machapa
