Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
RESURGENT giants Dynamos will be aiming to end a six-year jinx against perennial rivals Highlanders when they make their second Castle Lager Premier Soccer League trip to Bulawayo on Sunday this season.
DeMbare have not beaten Bosso in open play in the league since their 3-2 win at Rufaro Stadium on June 26, 2015.
In their first trip to the City of Kings in March, Dynamos beat Bulawayo Chiefs 2-0, with Ghanaian forward Emmanuel Paga and teenage sensation Bill Antonio on target.
Dynamos’ visit to Bulawayo comes less than a month after they were beaten 0-1 by Highlanders in the Independence Cup final. Stanley Ngala struck the match’s solitary goal.
Since then, Dynamos have managed two wins, edging Manica Diamonds 1-0 and Whawha 2-1 before playing to a 1-1 draw with bottom side Bulawayo City last weekend.
Highlanders have been struggling to find the winning touch; first playing to a 1-1 draw against Chicken Inn and getting a late equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Bulawayo Chiefs.
Their match against FC Platinum was abandoned with the score line at 1-1 when disturbances rocked Mandava Stadium after the referee awarded a controversial penalty to the home side in the 82nd minute.
Police then fired tear smoke, which also affected players and match officials.
Highlanders have registered five straight draws since their 3-0 win over Yadah on March 27.
Dynamos, who were beneficiaries of three points against Highlanders through the boardroom following the abandonment of the May 14, 2017, epic tie due to crowd trouble following a disputed equaliser by the Harare side, can underrate Bosso at their own peril.
The PSL disciplinary committee handed Dynamos a 3-0 victory for a game that was abandoned in the first-half with the teams tied 1-1. The two teams drew the reverse fixture 1-1 in Harare.
Other than that, Dynamos have lost five of their last eight matches against Highlanders.
In 2016, Highlanders beat Dynamos 2-0 at Rufaro Stadium to end a 10-year winless jinx, courtesy of goals by Prince Dube and Bruce Kangwa. Bosso won the reverse fixture 2-1 at home.
In 2018, Highlanders won the first-leg 1-0 in Harare and completed the double with an emphatic 3-0 demolition of DeMbare.
Bosso edged Dynamos 1-0 in the first-leg of the 2019 season in Bulawayo before sharing the 1-1 spoils in Harare.
There were no matches in 2020 due to severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the PSL only resumed with the 2021/22 season currently underway towards the end of last year.
Dynamos visit Bulawayo topping the league table with 30 points from 14 games and enjoy a two-point lead over second-placed Chicken Inn, who travel to Harare for a date with troubled Caps United.
Chicken Inn played to a goalless stalemate against Herentals, while Caps were hammered 3-0 by FC Platinum in Zvishavane in their first match since a player mutiny in their 2-0 loss to Cranborne Bullets.
Caps announced that they had sacked Devon Chafa, Denis Dauda, Clive Augusto, Ronald Chitiyo, Rodwell Chinyengetere and goalkeeper Simba Chinani for leading a revolt ahead of that match, which was almost called off after they refused to play.
The players were protesting over low salaries and unpaid bonuses, and grouped at a different location, and only arrived at the National Sports Stadium in private vehicles half an hour after the scheduled kick-off time.
Chafa, Chinyengetere and Chitiyo were forgiven less than 24 hours later after tempers cooled down and they apologised.
Augusto re-joined his former side Chicken Inn, while Chinani signed for Zifa Northern Region Division One League side Simba Bhora and Dauda remains unattached.
Fixtures
Friday: Yadah vs FC Platinum (National Sports Stadium)
Saturday: Ngezi Platinum Stars vs Tenax CS FC (Baobab), Herentals vs Bulawayo Chiefs (National Sports Stadium), Bulawayo City vs ZPC Kariba (Barbourfields Stadium), Whawha FC vs Harare City (Ascot)
Sunday: Caps United vs Chicken Inn (National Sports Stadium), Highlanders vs Dynamos (Barbourfields Stadium), Manica diamonds vs Black Rhinos (Sakubva), Triangle United vs Cranborne Bullets (Gibbo)
-@ZililoR
Online Reporter