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Moffat Mungazi Sub Editor
WHILE Dynamos coach Callisto Pasuwa had over the past three years appeared to have perfected the art of outpacing opponents, during sprints towards the finishing line in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race, he finally met his match in ZPC Kariba coach Saul Chaminuka.
Pasuwa had never lost DeMbare’s final five games of the Premiership.
He had also turned his champions into a tough side and it became a Herculean task for other teams to take a full set of maximum points off the Glamour Boys over the league’s two legs.
Then enter Chaminuka to elbow Pasuwa off that lofty perch.
The ZPC Kariba mentor won the battle of tactical wits last Saturday.
He beat Pasuwa home and away.
And for Pasuwa to play second fiddle to a gaffer who deputises him in the national Under-23 technical set-up, it badly exposed his shortcomings.
Perhaps he paid dearly for his gamble on last Saturday’s match, which had a boomerang effect that could have far-reaching repercussions when the season concludes.
DeMbare, perhaps getting into the tie with condescending complacency, were bereft of any big-match players on the field; the kind when the going gets tough would get tough by turning the tide and ultimately swinging the game in their team’s favour.
Captain Murape Murape, aptly fits that bill, but he remained an unused substitute on the bench.
A battle-hardened combatant exuding the typical DeMbare spirit and personifying the team’s tradition — typified by his abrasive approach to the game in that league tie against old rivals Highlanders at Babourfields this year — Murape would have certainly pushed for his team’s cause against ZPC Kariba with sustained fervour.
Oscar Machapa, another player whom Pasuwa could have summoned, did make the team and got himself into trouble at the end of the match when he was whisked away by police.
Contrast the omission of Murape from the game and how another veteran, Limited Chikafa, carried the day and won it for ZPC Kariba and a clearer picture emerges.
Secondly, there was no natural playmaker in the DeMbare cast; a conductor who could direct his orchestra to playing a melodious tune.
That Pasuwa opted for two defensive midfielders in Stephen Alimenda and Thomas Magorimbo and another two wide players, Ronald Chitiyo and Masimba Mambare, did not help matters, as it left a creativity void in his side.
Inevitably, ZPC Kariba’s Pride Tafirenyika outshone both Alimenda and Magorimbo in a battle for midfield supremacy, to emerge as one of the match’s standout players.
Pasuwa also got it wrong by playing two jaded strikers upfront, Simba Sithole and Roderick Mutuma; the latter replacing Anesu Gondo who limped off injured just after thrusting his team into the lead.
Mutuma, lethargic all afternoon, was a mere passenger on the train, while Sithole really never came off the blocks; save for that second half header which ZPC Kariba goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga saved in spectacular fashion.
The DeMbare front pair was not forceful enough to create trouble for their opponents and fashion out a second goal that the duo was easily contained by the opposition mean defence, well-marshalled by Dennis Dauda.
Having fallen behind, and now chasing the game, the substitutes Pasuwa threw in lacked both the requisite verve and impact to rally Dynamos and ignite a comeback to revive their faltering campaign.
To counter and neutralise Tafirenyika’s penetrative play, an ineffective Tawanda Muparati was thrown in, but, sadly, it bore no fruit.
Tafadzwa Rusike, invited for Mambare, just did not come to the party.
On the other hand, Ranthokoane Tsepo came in to step up his team’s play with a game-changing and match-winning performance that was highlighted by that looping goal which drew his team level.
Philip Makanje and Terrence Gonzo were basically thrown in to wind down the clock as ZPC Kariba looked set to bag the tie.
With this, Pasuwa effectively lost both the battle and war at this delicate stage of the title charge, surrendering both the three points and pole position.
And credit must be given to Chaminuka for doing just what had to be done — he realised that to be the best, he had to beat the champions.
And, boy oh boy, he did it in style.
Online Reporter