DYNAMOS could not have wished for a better return to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign than a trip to championship chasing FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane this afternoon.
WELLINGTON TONI SPORTS EDITOR
While Dynamos has not lost at Mandava for two seasons, but Platinum forced a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture this season.
And this is a team that has struggled in their travels this season as they dropped four points against Shabanie Mine and Black Rhinos.
They lost to How Mine, Buffaloes and Hwange with their only win coming against relegation-threatened Tripple B at Mandava.
Things have not been well in the blue camp this month as they have lost to Hwange 2-4 and drawn 0-0 against Monomotapa in the league and being bundled out of the cash-rich Mbada Diamonds Cup by How Mine at the weekend.
To say Dynamos have been trying their best in these three matches would be the understatement of the year — they have been lifeless and lacking the direction and the drive that has seen them snatch the league title under the noses of FC Platinum and Highlanders in the last two years.
In the same period, they have made the Mbada Diamonds Cup their own, winning the inaugural event in a rain-drenched final in 2011 before successfully defending it against Monomotapa last year.
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But came the ultimate crash against How Mine on Sunday in the quarter-finals!
The Dynamos executive has stood by coach Kalisto Pasuwa, saying there was no need to press the panic buttons with seven games of the league to go. The onus is now on the gaffer to rescue what has been a terrible month so far.
Team vice-chairman Webster Chikengezha said they met the technical team on Monday for their usual briefings.
“It was just a normal, usual briefing — nothing more. This thing of an ultimatum; there is nothing like that and not even anything close to that. We just met and mapped the way forward as team,” he said yesterday.
Simba Sithole’s return to the Glamour Boys against How Mine produced nothing, but he is one lethal strike, with the right type of ball supply, who can destroy any team.
Tawanda Muparati has been disappointing in that role and Pasuwa does not seem to have other alternatives either.
Fixtures Today: Harare City v Black Mambas (Rufaro), Motor Action v How Mine (Motor Action Sports Club), Caps United v Chicken Inn (NSS), Hwange v Shabanie Mine (Colliery), FC Platinum v Dynamos (Mandava), Black Rhinos v Buffaloes (Rimuka), Highlanders v Tripple B (Barbourfields) Saturday: Chicken Inn v Hwange (Luveve), Black Mambas v Caps United (Morris Depot) Sunday: Shabanie Mine v Monomotapa (Maglas), How Mine v Harare City (Luveve),m Buffaloes v Motor Action (Sakubva), Black Rhinos v Highlanders (Rimuka), Triangle v FC Platinum (Gibbo), Dynamos v Tripple B (Rufaro)
