WITH the 2016 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title now virtually beyond their grasp, depleted Harare giants Dynamos begin their quest for a more probable cup consolation with a tricky Chibuku Super Cup first round home tie against How Mine at Rufaro Stadium this afternoon.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
Dynamos — under pressure to appease their legion of disgruntled fans following last week’s defeat to bitter rivals Highlanders in Bulawayo — may have to produce results without a number of their key players.
Two former Highlanders players Masimba Mambare and Marshall Machazane sustained injuries in the blockbuster match against their former masters last week, with Elisha Muroiwa seemingly out for the rest of the season, while Sydney Linyama’s whereabouts remain unclear.
Young forward Kudzanai Nyakasaka is also doubtful, having only started light training this week.
While they are already out of the league title race, crushing out in the first round of the country’s most prestigious cup competition would be catastrophic for the Glamour Boys.
“This competition is one that we have hope of winning now. All the Dynamos stakeholders should combine forces in this one. Everyone at Dynamos should play their role starting today and we should be fighting from one corner to make sure we get a good result,” assistant coach Murape Murape said.
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Dynamos are last years’ Chibuku Cup finalists after losing 2-1 in the decider to Harare City, who went on to represent the country in the CAF Confederations Cup this year.
Murape, however, is a worried man, especially with Dynamos’ tactical indiscipline, which he said was the cause of last week’s humbling defeat to Bosso and we are likely to see wholesale changes in the match day squad today.
“We lacked tactical discipline on how to apply ourselves as a team. It is an area we are working on as we try to improve going forward. Players should follow instructions, and that’s what happens everywhere in the world. That is why you see coaches like Pep Guardiola and [Jose] Mourinho axing top players; it’s because of tactical indiscipline and that is one of the most important things in football,” Murape said.
A few weeks ago, the Dynamos technical team suspended a number of senior players including skipper Stephen Alimenda, Warriors first choice goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva, Denver Mukamba and Dominic Mukandi.
How Mine on the other hand are currently flirting with relegation in 13th position in the league and coach Kelvin Kaindu says his team understands very well how important this competition is.
“This is the cup where you get the opportunity to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup, which is a very big motivation for us. It’s a cup match and at the end of the day, there will be one winner so we are going to come and play our normal game,” Kaindu told Standardsport.
He added: “Preparations have been going very well, with some of our players back from injury so we have a bigger pool of players to choose from. We know Dynamos are coming from a defeat and we are also coming from a defeat; we both want to avoid another defeat at all costs.”
Meanwhile, in other matches, highflying Highlanders, who are fresh from completing a rare league double over Dynamos, will be looking to continue their good form when they host struggling Mutare City Rovers at Barbourfields Stadium.
Bosso will, however, be wary of the Mutare-based side after being held to a goalless draw in the first round of league matches before losing 1-2 at Barbourfields last month.
In the Lowveld, it will be a battle of veteran coaches, with underfire David Mandigora, whose Triangle side is on a four match losing streak in the league, hosting Rahman Gumbo-coached Chicken Inn at Gibbo Stadium.
