When referee Brighton Chimene blew the whistle to signal the end of the match at the National Sports Stadium yesterday, Dynamos players hung their heads in disappointment.
BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE Dynamos….. (1) 1 Chicken Inn (0) 0
As he has done so many times before this season, coach Lloyd Mutasa wept while hugging his players.
Dynamos have been in these kind of situations one too many times in the past, needing their rivals to falter on the final day of the league race to hand them the championship, but this time the script was different.
Yes, they beat Chicken Inn through an Obey Mwerahari fifth minute strike, but FC Platinum held their nerves at Ascot Stadium to beat Chapungu and win their first ever domestic title.
“For starters, all I would like to say is congratulations to Norman Mapeza and his team. I think they did a fantastic job to beat us to the title by two points,” Mutasa said after wiping his tears to face the journalists.
“I would like to applaud the Dynamos players and the institution for giving it a go until the death. The majority ruled us out when the season got underway, but here we are. However, you know that when you are Dynamos, second best is not good enough.”
The turnout was poor by Dynamos’ standards, suggesting that there was a general sentiment that there would not be any miracle this time around.
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Even when Mwerahari headed home Mushure’s lofted cross, there were muffled cheers around the stadium as news trickled in that FC Platinum were already in the lead in Gweru.
Dynamos’ performance even dropped after the match day announcer made it public that the platinum miners were two-up in Gweru halfway through the first half.
Towards the end of the first half, Dynamos were singing Ichokwadi Mwari Variko (there is God in heaven) trying to invoke divine intervention, but nothing really changed.
The Glamour Boys had a chance to double the lead early in the second half after Chimene awarded a questionable penalty, but their top scorer Christian Epoupa blazed the ball over bar.
The day summed up in that particular piece of action.
“As Chicken Inn, we had a good and bad season, but I think we tried our best in the championship race. The boys tried hard, but it was not our season,” the visitors’ coach Rahman Gumbo said after the match.
Teams:
Dynamos: T Mateyaunga, P Makaha, O Mushure, M Machazane, G Mukambi, T Chipunza, O Mwerahari (K Dhevere 75’), C Kapupurika, C Epoupa, Q Kangadze ( V Ndaba 90’), M Mambare.
Chicken Inn: E Chipezeze, P Madhazi, D Lunga, C Samakweri, M Jackson, C Matawu, B Nyahunzvi, I Mucheneka (D Nyandoro 58’), G Majika7 (B Sibanda 63’), T Goredema, O Tarumbwa(I Lawrence 77’).
