adminThe Harare giants missed a couple of chances earlier on as a combination of good defending and the poor state of the pitch made life difficult for the visitors on the afternoon.
DeMbare have been finding it difficult winning away of late following their defeats to Buffaloes and How Mine in their last two matches outside Harare.
Pasuwa said he had expected a change of fortunes yesterday following last week’s plea to his players to change their attitude on away games.
Both Dynamos and Rhinos players struggled to put the ball under control and for the bigger part of the afternoon, they resorted to pumping long balls upfront.
This may explain why Rhinos have not conceded a goal since they moved to Rimuka.
They drew 0-0 with Tripple B in their first game in Kadoma and then beat FC Platinum 2-0 before hosting Dynamos.
“These are the kinds of the pitches that we are using and we can do nothing about. So I am saying to the boys if we really want to win the championship then we would need to win matches even on such pitches.
“We also have to change the mindset and start getting positive results in these away games,” said Pasuwa.
Dynamos should now be feeling the pressure in defence of their title as they are now five points off the pace in the race following log leaders Harare’s City’s 2-0 win over FC Platinum on Saturday which took Bigboy Mawiwi’s men to 37 points.
DeMbare dropped third on the log table with 32 points as rivals Highlanders moved to second with a two-point advantage.
Their striker Farai Mupasiri thought he had broken his goal-scoring drought in the 11th minute when he unleashed a ferocious right footer which rattled the underside of the cross bar before settling in but referee Rugare Kusosa correctly overruled the goal for offside.
Mupasiri should have cursed his misfortunes yesterday as he had a perfect opportunity to give DeMbare the winner in the 70th minute after breaking free inside the penalty box but his point blank shot was punched out for corner by goalkeeper Herbert Rusawo.
The Rhinos keeper was left badly exposed following a half-hearted clearance by his backline which allowed Allan Tavarwisa to pick out Mupasiri inside the box.
Rusawo, who had a brilliant game between the posts, however, dived to his left and somehow managed to get his hand on the ball with the majority of the vociferous Dynamos fans already up on their feet.
Rhinos appeared comfortable doing most of the defending while hoping to get Dynamos on the break using pace from the flanks where Brighton Mugoni was always a handful.
Dynamos, who missed a number of players through injuries and national team duty, started with a changed backline with Partson Jaure on rightback while newboy Sydney Linyama, who acquitted himself well, partnered Gift Bello at the heart of defence.
They had a good opportunity just about a seven minutes the first assistant Allen Parehwa referred to an earlier incident, which the referee appeared to have missed, and awarded them an indirect free kick inside the arc.
The ball was brought back from the Dynamos half and Russell Madamombe’s strike was deflected out for corner.
The former Monomotapa man could have done better at the half hour mark got to the end of Mupasiri cross but he shot wildly.
As prospects to get a goal looked remote in the second half, Jaure twice tried his luck with long range efforts which narrowly went wide.
Goalkeeper George Chigova also ventured forward when he took a freekick at the edge of the box but his ferocious shot came off the head of defender Brighton Chandisaita.
Rhinos saw little action going forward and coach Arthur Tutani said it was tactical as he hailed his charges for the draw.
However, the army side felt undone eight minutes into the game when their appeals for a penalty were turned down after Brian Muzondiwa collapsed under challenge of Linyama.
Instead the referee reached out for his front pocket and cautioned the Rhinos forward for diving.
Defender Bruce Homora also came close when he made a spirited run down the right channel but his rising shot sailed over the crossbar in the 21st minute.
“I am very happy and I am proud of the boys because they played according to instructions and manage to force a draw against such a good side as Dynamos.
“I can’t take away anything from Dynamos. They are the defending champion and they won the championship for the last two season which shows how good they are,” said Tutani.
Teams
Black Rhinos: H. Rusawo, J. Mukombwe, B. Homora, S. Jimu, M. Kurewa (W. Chakanyuka, 75th minute), B. Sande, T. Machacha, B. Muzondiwa, C. Zimbawu (B. Chandisaita, 87th minute), W. Kapinda, B. Mugoni
Dynamos: G. Chigova, P. Jaure, A. Mbara, G. Bello, S. Linyama, T. Magorimbo, T. Muparati, C. Sekete (M. Murape, 70th minute), R. Madamombe (T. Mabvura, 87th minute), A. Tavarwisa (B. Zirintusa, 72nd minute), F. Mupasiri
Online Reporter