DYNAMOS’ Mbada Diamonds Cup defence begins this afternoon with a first round clash against lowly-rated Tripple B at a neutral Gibbo.
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA
Enjoying a stranglehold on the richest competition in Zimbabwean football, Dynamos arrive at Gibbo aiming to make the first step towards a third-straight Mbada Cup. Just like last season, they begin their campaign against a team almost certain of relegation.
Relegated Quelaton nearly embarrassed them last term, following a regulation time stalemate but Dynamos earned a fortunate passage into the quarter-finals courtesy of a penalty shootout.
Also having already missed on the BancABC Sup8r Cup from which they were shockingly eliminated by eventual champions Shabanie Mine, coach Kalisto Pasuwa is not complacent.
“We have been working on the offensive aspect of our game and we need to be resilient throughout the match and avoid what happened against Shabanie Mine when we were leading but went on to lose,” Pasuwa said.
“There are no small teams in football and we need to be positive as we go into this match. Tripple B are a good side. We beat them in the league but I realised that they are strong in terms of mobility and fluent passing although they tend to lack concentration in terms of defending,” he said.
Defenders Oscar Mchapa and Augustine Mbara have been declared fit to play this afternoon following minor knocks earlier in the week.
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Riding on a positive of a clean bill of health in his squad, Pasuwa is however worried about the potential energy-sapping effects posed by the searing heat of Gibbo, Chiredzi where they dumped Buffaloes out of the BancABC Cup.
Dynamos will be facing their former son, striker Aleck Marime but defender Timire Mamvura is likely to miss the game due to a family death.
Just like his mentor, steely defender Partson Jaure is still haunted by the Shabanie Mine catastrophe.
“I am not looking at individuals but Tripple B as a team. Maybe Marime is worried that there is Jaure,” said Jaure.
“The coach has told us that that we should not be complacent because these teams that are said to be small are very troublesome. So we will play according to what the coach told us.”
Tripple B are second from bottom on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League log standings.
Their coach Peter Manoti said they are motivated by the prospect of facing much-fancied opponents like Dynamos.
“We have no injuries because God is on our side and that is an advantage on our side. Another plus for us is that we are comfortable to play under hot weather conditions like we will face in Chiredzi. Playing Dynamos is also a plus on our side because everyone wants to play against a big team so we have realistic chances of winning,” said Manoti.
Elsewhere, Highlanders’ dro-ught for a major trophy in recent years would be spurring Kelvin Kaindu’s charges against Triangle in another first round match at Barbourfields.
“Triangle came from Division One and I have noted that they have since established themselves as a strong side. They are not going to be easy for us but we will win. Lack of cups will give us pressure but we just have to be focussed,” Kaindu said.
“We have been having problems with our finishing this season but we have been working hard on that and we hope for an improvement.”
Key players Bruce Kangwa, Peter Moyo, Bekhimpilo Ncube and Heritani Masuku were expected to pass late fitness tests last night.
