FLAME LILY . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1 DYNAMOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
WHATEVER little hopes that Dynamos had of retaining the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title went up in smoke yesterday when they were held to a one-all draw by Flame Lily at a bumpy Lafarge Stadium.
BY HENRY MHARA
Trailing log leaders Chicken Inn with six points at the start of the match, Dynamos needed maximum points to remain in the race but found themselves on the back foot after 35 minutes when Gift Phiri’s direct free-kick beat the defending league champions goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva.
Carlos Rusere equalised five minutes later for Dynamos for a share of spoils, but the point gained did very little for the two sides’ cause.
With the result, Dynamos are now five points behind the GameCocks, who have a game in hand.
A win would have seen the Tonderai Ndiraya-coached side cutting the lead on the PSL log to three and leapfrogging second-placed FC Platinum on the log standings, ahead of the miners’ top-of-the-table clash against Chicken Inn on Wednesday.
Ndiraya reiterated his earlier stance that his team is out of the race, while Flame Lily’s new coach Takesure Chiragwi said he was content with a point despite his team wallowing in the relegation zone, three points off the team at the basement of the table.
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Dynamos, missing the suspended Ocean Mushure and the pair of Roderick Mutuma and Blessing Moyo away on national duty, struggled to find their rhythm earlier on against a Flame Lily side who accorded them very little respect.
Ndiraya’s men got their first real chance of the game on the half hour mark when Richard Kawondera shot from an acute angle on the left, which keeper Lloyd Majarira collected on his near post. A cross by the striker could have yielded better results.
On 33th minute his fellow striker Takesure Chinyama hit the bar with a rising shot, although he looked like he was being pulled back by a defender as he released the shot, but the referee ignored the strong appeals for a penalty by Dynamos players and fans alike.
The hosts fuelled Dynamos’ sense of injustice when Phiri beat Mukuruva with a low shot from a direct free-kick with the ball taking an awkward bounce in front of the young goalkeeper.
The lead lasted just five minutes though as Rusere, playing as a makeshift left-back in the absence of Mushure, blasted in from the left with midfielder Ronald Chitiyo doing all the hard work in freeing him up. Dynamos had another genuine appeal for a penalty late in the first half but it was waved away as the two teams went to the break deadlocked.
It was the visitors who began the second half lively. Chinyama’s point blank header was saved by the keeper before Kawondera hit the bar with a headed effort moments later.
Chiragwi’s response to the early pressure was to pull out Virimai Chikudo and replaced him with James Chivasa.
The change brought some kind of stability in his team, but it was Dynamos who finished the match strongly against opponents who looked comfortable to get a point as they disrupted the flow of the match at every opportunity.
Lineups Flame Lily — L Majarira, G Phiri, S Jimu, B Chandisaita, J Mukondiwa, T Huwa, P Chidawaya, F Madhanaga, V Mukudo J Chivasa, 52’), K Marowa (P Ngwenya, 70’), M Demera (G Pensula, 88’). Dynamos — T Mukuruva, G Murwira, S Linyama, C Rusere, Z Mhanda (K Bulaji, 59’), E Muroiwa, S Alimenda, R Chitiyo, W Mukanga, R Kawondera, T Chinyama
