dyton mupawaenda
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
GIANTS Dynamos are set to go out in search of at least two tried and tested forwards to beef up their squad in preparation for next year’s CAF Confederation Cup competition.
The Glamour Boys will next year return to the CAF inter-club competitions as Zimbabwe’s representatives after winning the Chibuku Super Cup on Sunday.
They beat Ngezi Platinum Stars 2-0 at Baobab to end a nine-year drought for a major trophy and also punch their ticket to CAF’s second-tier competition.
The club’s vice-chairman Vincent Chawonza, who is also the head of human capital, said although DeMbare would want to maintain continuity with the team they built this year, the demands of continental football are likely to push them to go for experienced strikers to boost what they have in their stocks.
Dynamos strikers struggled with rookie forward Elton Chikona and star midfielder Donald Mudadi finishing as the club’s top scorers on five goals each.
But more was expected from the likes of Eli Ilunga (four goals), Jayden Bakare (2), Tinashe Makanda (1), Nyasha Chintuli and Emmanuel Paga (1), who failed to find their scoring touch.
“I must say we are happy with the quality we have and at the same time we are not happy with the lack of goals from these guys. We know they can do better; they just need to pull up their socks.
“The goals haven’t come as expected but remember these are the guys who dominated the scoring charts before coming to Dynamos the previous season, with over 40 goals among themselves.
“We are definitely going to give them another chance, of course with one or two additions to bolster the department.
“Remember we were a new team this season. We also experimented a lot with the strikers. So it will be unfair to conclude that these guys failed. They just need to twitch up their game.
“And since we are going to play continental football next year, our coach has hinted that he wants some reinforcements. So we will hear from him after he has finalised his plans.
“But from what I understand, we may require at least four new players who are experienced. From those four one or two should be top notch strikers, with the experience of scoring goals.
“African football isn’t child’s play. The level of the game is very high and we have to match that,” said Chawonza.
The DeMbare leadership believe the team that Genesis Mangombe and his former colleague Hebert Maruwa have built is quite formidable.
“I would say we could have gone for the league this year but we shot ourselves in the foot in that we played many draws and lost some matches that we shouldn’t have,” said Chawonza.
“The team played well against the big boys; we beat CAPS United three times, we outplayed Highlanders at Barbourfields, we beat champions Ngezi Platinum twice in the last month, and so forth but complacency crept in against the smaller teams.
“We have quite a strong team. If we start the next season the way we ended this one, I tell you we will be talking of playing Champions League football.
“So we are continuing with the same team and the same coaches. I think they did well this season to win the Chibuku Super Cup as well as finishing third in the league race.
“It was a commendable effort considering we were a new team. It’s usually not easy to assemble a team and go on to win everything in the first season. The team needs time to gel.
“Remember it’s also not an easy thing to come from a small team and stand the pressure at Dynamos where the supporters demand excellence. At this club, you must have character to continue playing your normal game, especially if you make mistakes early on.”
The Chibuku Super Cup is Dynamos’ first major trophy since 2014 when they last won the league title. The silverware will spice up the 60th anniversary banquet set for the end of this month.
“I can easily attribute the success to cohesion in the team. We had our differences and at some point we had to make difficult and unpopular decisions, but we remained united and focused.
“Credit to the technical team and players. This is a special bunch of players considering that they are winning silverware for the club for the first time in nine years. So we are going to look after them well and make sure they have pleasant festive holidays.
“They are going to get their bonuses and rewards, and it’s not like we are doing them any favour. They deserve this. You eat what you kill and these guys have brought in the money by winning the Chibuku Super Cup as well as finishing third in the league,” said Chawonza.
Online Reporter