Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira, Zimpapers Sports Hub
CRISIS-HIT Dynamos are limping into Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo this afternoon like a wounded giant, but Chicken Inn head coach Joey Antipas is not about to take his foot off the pedal.
With both clubs under pressure to rescue their seasons, Antipas wants no slip ups from his Gamecocks against a DeMbare side reeling from a stormy week on and off the pitch.
“You can never write off Dynamos,” warned Antipas.
“Both teams are almost in the same predicament, which makes the game interesting. However, in this game, we have to fight to get all the three points. For us to win, we have to make sure that we are focused for the entire 90 minutes. They might be struggling but Dynamos is a big team and you cannot underestimate them. We have to be at our best.”
It’s a statement that reflects just how unpredictable this fixture has become. Dynamos, once a symbol of domestic dominance, now find themselves teetering one place above the relegation zone and without a goal in six straight games.
Their only win in the last 10 matches feels like a distant memory.
The club’s woes deepened this week after head coach Saul Chaminuka was suspended indefinitely without pay, following a run of poor results and an alleged breach of discipline, notably his part in the abandoned FC Platinum match.
That decision threw the Glamour Boys deeper into disarray.
Chaminuka, who lasted just two months at the helm, leaves behind a dire record, only six goals scored in 22 matches under his tenure.
Now, the task of damage control falls on interim coach Philemon Mutyakureva, himself a former Dynamos player, who takes over under immense pressure and with a fractured dressing room.
The Dynamos hierarchy is already looking beyond the short term. Former Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu, one of the most respected football figures in the country, has been approached in what looks like a desperate move to salvage the season. Kaindu travelled to Bulawayo ahead of today’s fixture but is unlikely to be on the bench yet.
For Antipas, today’s game is more than just a clash with a fallen giant, it’s an opportunity to steady his own side’s campaign in a season that has thrown up more questions than answers.
“We cannot afford to lose concentration. Dynamos may be down, but they’re still dangerous. We must stay sharp and take our chances when they come,” said Antipas.
The setting is tense. The stakes are high. And for Dynamos, a club in disarray, this afternoon might just be their last chance to stop the bleeding.
