DEMBARE DOOMED!. . .This looks like the END of the road

Robson Sharuko

H-Metro Editor

At the spiritual home of their biggest rivals Highlanders yesterday, this sorry effigy masquerading as Dynamos crashed to its heaviest defeat of the season and edged closer to RELEGATION.

A 0-3 thrashing at the hands of Chicken Inn highlighted the depths of the chaos in the DeMbare camp just a few days after they announced the sacking of the second coach this season.

Saul Chaminuka, hopelessly out of depth when it comes to the demands that come with coaching a club like Dynamos, was sacked last week while he was serving a two-match touchline ban.

The DeMbare officials, who have sacked everyone else except themselves, announced that they had hired Zambian gaffer Kelvin Kaindu to help them avoid relegation. Kaindu was not in charge at Barbourfields, which used to be his home during his days at Highlanders, where he was also sacked, as he processed his work permit.

He is likely to be in charge in their next match against Lloyd Mutasa, yet another man who was sacked at Dynamos, when MWOS come to town next weekend. Mutasa’s MWOS, who are newboys in the top-flight league, are second on the table, despite a winless run stretching four matches, while his former team are second from the bottom of the table.

Only Kwekwe United, the worst club to play in the PSL, are in a worse position than Dynamos.

Kwekwe United have just nine points while DeMbare have 16 points.

But, incredibly, even Kwekwe United can point to something that they have done better than Dynamos this season.

The Midlands side have scored nine goals while Dynamos have scored only six goals.

This means that Kwekwe United have scored one-and-half times more goals than DeMbare so far this season. It’s the worst goal return by the Glamour Boys in their 63-year-old history at this stage of the championship race.

• After all, this is the same club for which Moses Chunga scored 46 goals, on his own, during the 1986 season.
• Next year, the Glamour Boys will mark the 40th anniversary of Chunga’s amazing exploits but the celebrations are likely to be held in Division One.
• It will also be the 50th anniversary of the year when a vintage class of Glamour Boys gave a new meaning to dominance on the domestic front as they won five of the six trophies on offer, including the league championship.
• Playing attacking football which was some light years ahead of their time, those Glamour Boys scored 67 goals in knockout tournaments, to add to the 50 they scored in the 10-team league, for an incredible haul of 117 goals in just one season.
• They won the league, the Castle Cup, Nyore Nyore Shield and the Southern African Club Championship with victory over Orlando Pirates.
• More than their remarkable trophy haul, what stood out was the manner in which they marched to success – thrashing Chibuku 8-0 in the Nyore Nyore Shield final, with the late Daniel “Dhidhidhi” Ncube scoring five goals in that match, handing Zimbabwe Saints an 8-1 hammering in the Castle Cup final and thrashing Orlando Pirates 4-1 a Rufaro.
• What this means is that in that Nyore Nyore final, Dynamos scored more goals in one match than they have scored in 23 league games this season.

For the first time this season, Dynamos find themselves in a position where even if they win their next two games, they will still be trapped in second-from-the-bottom of the table irrespective of what happens elsewhere.

After all, the gap between them and the team in third-from-the-bottom of the table, Manica Diamonds, who picked a point at home yesterday, is now seven points. So, the Gem Boys can afford to lose their next two games and they will not fall into second-from-the-bottom of the table even if Dynamos win their next two games.

This means that by the time we get to a stage where there will be just nine games remaining in the championship race, DeMbare will still be second-from-the-bottom of the table.

Given they have only won twice in their 23 games, it’s hard to see how they can win two out of two matches. But, their biggest challenge is that the games are running out fast and they still have some very big games coming.