Chronicle Editor
Eddie Chikamhi, Senior Sports Reporter
GIANTS Dynamos are set to begin their defence of the Chibuku Super Cup in a re-scheduled fixture against ZPC Kariba tomorrow and interim coach, Lloyd Chigowe is a bit anxious about the congested fixture programme ahead of them.
DeMbare will be looking to strike a balance between an impending fixtures backlog in the domestic competitions and the upcoming CAF Confederation Cup games.
The Glamour Boys, who returned to domestic competitions when beating Chegutu Pirates 1-0 at Rufaro on Sunday, are currently playing catch up after missing some of the domestic assignments due to their participation in the CAF Confederation Cup competition.
While most of the local teams are observing the international break this week and only returning to action in a fortnight, Dynamos will have to fulfill another fixture on September 11, just four days before their away fixture in the CAF Confederation Cup second round tie against Orapa United of Botswana.
The fixtures backlog is likely to continue ballooning as their two upcoming league fixtures against Ngezi Platinum Stars and Chicken Inn have been postponed to pave the way for the two-legged second round Confederation Cup tie.
DeMbare interim coach, Chigowe, fears his players might burn out.
“Success invites a lot of pressure,” said Chigowe. “The fact that we are still in the Confederation Cup means we have piled up fixtures going forward, but we will try to work scientifically as is possible in terms of recovery management.
“Obviously, we have another game here art Rufaro on Wednesday (tomorrow); another humdinger because ZPC Kariba will be motivated to play Dynamos.
“But we have to go over it. Hopefully the mother body (Zifa) and the PSL will look into the fixture congestion.
“Dynamos are representing the nation and at times they must relax a little bit some of the rules and allow us recovery time, especially the fact that we are asked to play (in Gweru) on September 11 when we have a (Confederation Cup) fixture on September 15,” said Chigowe.
DeMbare have been involved in cross-border travelling in the past two weeks after hosting Zesco United in Botswana before travelling to Zambia for the return fixture in the preliminary round tie.
The former Zimbabwe champions currently cannot play on home soil since local stadiums have failed to get Fifa and CAF certification. As a result, they have turned to Botswana for relief.
Despite the challenges, Chigowe is still looking to guide Dynamos to the group stages of the continental competition. Dynamos have not featured in African competitions in a decade and they desperately need that feel good story.
Orapa United stand between them and their dream. The Ostriches qualified to the second-round courtesy of a 3-1 win over Foresters of Seychelles.
“These boys are very solid in teams, of defending their goal,” Chigowe said.
“They are a team that is prepared to work very hard and I think all things being equal we will not underestimate Orapa United.
“They are there on merit. They have qualified, so we will not take them lightly and we will give everything to make sure Zimbabwe is represented in the mini-league and that will improve the ranking of our club sides in Africa.
“If we do not get into the group stage, then all the effort that we have put would have gone to waste.”
DeMbare’s CAF sojourn has also come at a cost after losing two players – Sadney Uri-Khob and Kelvin Moyo – to injuries in the preliminary round. Also on the injury list is Ghanaian midfielder, Frederick Ansa-Botchway and Tanaka Shandirwa with a minor knock.
Dynamos on Sunday played Chegutu Pirates without their vice-captain Emmanuel Jalai and Chigowe was not pleased.
“Most of the teams used their players that have been called for national team duty, but we were not allowed to use Emmanuel Jalai.
“That is an uneven playing field. Everybody that is called into the national team must immediately go into camp. We cannot have one rule for Dynamos and one rule for the other teams,” said Chigowe.
However, Jalai is expected to be back for the CAF games next week. DeMbare have also added to their Confederation Cup squad defenders, Elvis Moyo and Francis Jerimani and striker Vusa Ngwenya.
Apart from hunting for a group stage ticket in the Confederation Cup, DeMbare are also bracing for a difficult finish in the domestic competitions where they are seventh in the league table, 16 points adrift of log leaders Simba Bhora, going into the last 10 games.
“Everybody is motivated to play against Dynamos. So, we are looking forward to 10 gruelling league matches until the end of the season.
“A team that has been losing even by wide margins will always feel motivated to play against Dynamos and worse that we are playing higher in the Confederation Cup, it has become a marker. So, we are a marked team. We expect much more of that,” said Chigowe.
Chibuku Super Cup First Round Rescheduled Fixtures:
Tomorrow:
Dynamos v ZPC Kariba (Rufaro)
Thursday:
Ngezi Platinum Stars v Bulawayo Chiefs (Baobab).
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