DeMbare’s goal drought worries Maruwa

Tadious Manyepo in MT DARWIN

DYNAMOS head coach Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa is beginning to get worried with his blunt strikeforce.

The former Black Rhinos gaffer was hoping to win his first trophy as the Glamour Boys coach on Tuesday. But it wasn’t to be after his team failed to beat 10-man Highlanders in the Independence Trophy final played at Mupfure Stadium in Mt Darwin.

DeMbare lost the match 5-3 on penalties after a goalless draw in regulation time.

But that the Glamour Boys played for over 55 minutes with a numerical advantage, after Bosso’s Andrew Mbeba was red-carded 35 minutes into the game and still failed to breach their opponents, was especially disappointing for Maruwa.

He gave each of his forwards – Tinashe Makanda, Jayden Bakare, Eli Ilunga and Nyasha Chintuli – significant time on the field of play but they all failed to light up the stage before an expectant crowd of over 30 000.

They registered just one attempt on target between themselves in an afternoon that they failed to pitch up for the party.

Although the match, organised as part of the main Independence celebrations at this arena housed at Mt Darwin High School, was exciting, the Dynamos pattern of play,  especially in the attacking third left, a lot to be desired.

Yet, this wasn’t the only match the Dynamos frontline failed to deliver the goods.

This is a department that has scored just one goal in five matches in all competitions.

Dynamos, just like Bosso, have played four games in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.

They have scored five goals and are yet to concede a goal.

Just one goal out of those five was scored by a striker-Tinashe Makanda’s smash-and-grab strike in the opening match against Hwange which Dynamos won 1-0.

They followed that win with a rampant 4-0 victory over Sheasham on Match-Day Two with their players scoring only two goals.

Captain Frank Makarati scored from the penalty spot while Emmanuel Paga poked home in the dying stages of the encounter.

The other two goals were scored by a Sheasm defender who netted an unprecedented brace of own goals.

The Glamour Boys have failed to score in the past two league matches against Simba Bhora and Cranborne Bullets with both matches ending in identical goalless stalemates.

And their barrenness in front of goal continued in the Independence Trophy final on Tuesday. Despite creating several scoring chances in this match, the DeMbare strikers lacked the cutting edge as they have always done this term.

And Maruwa has every reason to be concerned. “Look, I thought we had a good game of football overall. “We did all we could to get over the line in this match against Highlanders but the goal couldn’t come. “I am worried with how we are failing to apply the finishing touch in our matches,” said Maruwa.

“In this game, we were on top of the situation. We had an extra man and we dominated play but we failed to score.

“It’s very frustrating if you look at it. In the league we are also struggling to get the goals. So we have to work on polishing up our flaws in advanced positions.

“The strikeforce is still clicking up and we need to be patient.

“Our team is good but obviously we need to score goals. It is goals which win matches and we have to be on point.”

Dynamos’ bluntness also cost them the league title last season after finishing third in the race.

Their strikers were far from impressive with Evans Katema, Makanda, Alex Orotomal, Albert Eonde and Martin Ofori scoring just a single goal between themselves in the entire season.

All but Makanda were offloaded after Dynamos appointed Maruwa as Tonderai Ndiraya’s replacement.

DeMbare were supposed to have played Highlanders in the league last Saturday but that match was shelved to allow the two giants sufficient time to prepare for the Independence showdown.

That fixture will be played in the not-so-distant future and DeMbare will be looking to redeem themselves against the Bulawayo giants. They face Bulawayo Chiefs in the league at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Fixtures:

Tomorrow: ZPC Kariba v Manica Diamonds (NSS)

Saturday: Green Fuels v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Gibbo), Fc Platinum v Triangle (Mandava), Hwange v Cranborne Bullets (Luveve), Yadah v Highlanders (NSS), Black Rhinos v Herentals (Baobab).

 Sunday: Dynamos v Bulawayo Chiefs (NSS), Sheasham v Simba Bhora (Mandava), Chicken Inn v CAPS United (BF)