adminTadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
WITH Dynamos strikers finding it difficult to give the Glamour Boys the goals, coach Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa has started scanning around for a reliable scorer.
DeMbare are not exactly struggling, at least in most aspects of their game, but their inconsistency in terms of goal scoring has been their biggest let down 12 weeks into the term.
The giants are only five points behind leaders Ngezi Platinum Stars but their bluntness in front of goal has seen them posting too many goalless draws against not-so-tough opponents.
Until their convincing 3-0 thumping of ZPC Kariba last Sunday, Dynamos had scored just one goal in five matches, albeit in a 2-1 losing cause against Ngezi Platinum in the preceding week.
The other four games ended goalless leading the club executive through their Human Capital Committee to give Maruwa a two-match ultimatum from which they demanded six points.
Maruwa has already clipped the first step after that victory over ZPC Kariba and he will need to beat Black Rhinos on Saturday to secure his job, at least for now.
While Maruwa, one of the most collected coaches locally, has played down the two-match ultimatum, he is aware of the need to beef up his attack when the mid-season transfer window opens in three weeks’ time.
The former Black Rhinos gaffer made statement signings in the off season bringing in some of the best performing strikers in the local scene from last season.
He brought in Elie Ilunga from Black Rhinos, with the Congolese having found the target 10 times last year, and the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Rookie of the Year Jayden Bakare, who had scored as many goals for relegated Whawha.
Maruwa also went out of his way to sign Nyasha Chintuli after the former Manica Diamonds had registered his name on the score-sheet nine times.
The three joined Tinashe Makanda who was already at the Glamour Boys.
But the quartet has been disappointing having scored just two goals between themselves in 12 games. DeMbare have scored a total of 13 goals with more than half of those coming in their wins against new boys Sheasham (4-0) and last weekend’s 3-0 victory over ZPC Kariba.
Midfielder Donald Mudadi, who has scored four times, is the leading scorer at the team with Makanda and Bakare the only two strikers who have registered their names on the score-sheet.
Makanda found the winner in a 1-0 opening day of the season win over Hwange at Barbourfields while Bakare scored the second goal in a 2-0 derby victory against CAPS United on April 30.
That means the four strikers have contributed just 15 percent of the total number of goals scored by the team.
Even constant rotation of the forwards hasn’t worked for Maruwa and he knows he needs to get a reliable goal getter for the team.
But first, Maruwa will get Evans Katema registered as he is convinced the dreadlocked former Mushowani Stars man can bring loads of experience to the struggling department.
Katema, together with Ghanaian Martin Ofori, has been training with Dynamos as he has a running contract.
He didn’t start pre-season with the rest of the squad due to injury issues.
Maruwa wanted to assess both Katema and Ofori and he seems to have been impressed by Katema while he will continue evaluating Ofori.
“Obviously we need to add a striker. A striker who can get us goals as that is the department we need to improve if we are to be competitive in this league,” said Maruwa.
“We have Evans Katema already in the team and we will have to register him. He is one guy who has been showing hunger in training and I have no doubt he will give us what we have been lacking.
“He is already a Dynamos player and what we just need to do is get him registered.
“We also have Martin Ofori who we are still assessing and we may also include him.
“But basically, we have already started looking around for a striker who can give us the goals. If you look at our team, we have been playing well but several times, we have not been scoring goals”.
There are reports the Glamour Boys are closely monitoring the league’s leading goal scorer Fortune Binzi of Manica Diamonds.
Binzi has scored eight times but his consistency could as well turn off the Glamour Boys gaffer.
Binzi scored all those goals in four games meaning he has failed to come to the party in eight other matches.
With Dynamos having 32 players in their books, at least four of them will either be de-registered or shipped out of the system to accommodate the prospective newcomers.
Meanwhile, Maruwa believes he will not crumble under pressure to win his next match against Black Rhinos at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday. Instead he says he wants his players to carry the same energy they put against ZPC Kariba into the game.
“It’s all about belief. We need to carry on like the way we did against ZPC Kariba. Black Rhinos is not a small team. They may be struggling right now but they can beat anyone on their day. So we need to be very cautious and try to dominate the crucial phases of the game”.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow: Herentals v Simba Bhora (NSS)
Saturday: Black Rhinos v Dynamos (NSS), Bulawayo Chiefs v GreenFuel (Luveve), Manica Diamonds v Sheasham (Gibbo), FC Platinum v Chicken Inn (Mandava), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Hwange (Baobab)
Sunday: CAPS Utd v Highlanders (NSS), Triangle v Cranborne Bullets (Gibbo)
Monday: ZPC Kariba v Yadah (NSS)
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