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Harare giants Dynamos made life difficult for themselves in their new campaign in the Confederation Cup when they put up a lifeless show at home to settle for a goalless draw against Interclube of Angola in the first leg of the group stage qualifiers at Rufaro yesterday.
Callisto Pasuwa’s men — who were relegated to the second tier competition after bowing out of the prestigious Champions League tournament — simply did not turn up for the game except for a few moments of individual efforts from striker Roderick Mutuma.
Instead, it was Interclube who enjoyed their game, playing as a unit and controlling the flow of play to walk away with a deserved share of the spoils.
DeMbare were left with a huge task in their hands as they now need to go and force a scoring draw in Angola in two weeks time or to completely turn the tables and beat Interclube at their backyard to qualify for the mini-league stage.
But with yesterday’s performance, the prospect now appears unthinkable.
As is usually the norm in African football, Dynamos needed to make full use of home advantage but their game plan went awry from the first whistle.
DeMbare were disjointed in all departments and, for a stranger, it was hard to believe they were the home team.
Pasuwa’s men were so bad yesterday that they struggled to thread clean passes and they appeared content playing second fiddle in the midfield where Milton Makopa, Arthur Kaseloki, Thomas Magorimbo and Denver Mukamba offered little fight.
For some reasons, Dynamos’ wings were technically dead and their play lacked width.
DeMbare continuously pumped the ball upfront through the middle but would soon found themselves on the backpedal.
Interclube got the first clear chance but midfielder Nuno Neto’s strike was disallowed for offside in the 17th minute.
Dynamos’ Mutuma managed to keep the ball in play a minute later and squared for his strike partner Chinyama but the Orlando Pirates-bound man miscued his effort over the bar from close range.
Defender Guthrie Zhokinyi then sent his free-kick wide in the 39th minute when Kailunda Joao was found guilty of tagging goal-bound striker Chinyama.
Interclube came close in the 55th minute when goalkeeper Washington Arubi spilled a low shot from a set-piece by Antonio Justo and David Kutyauripo reacted fast to avert the danger.
It was not until midway through the second half that DeMbare appeared to have rediscovered their formation and created a few chances.
Chinyama cracked a powerful shot but it came off the head of defender Fabricio Mafuta. And Zambian Kaseloki who had a commendable performance in the
second half sent his effort wide a minute later.
Action shifted to the other end of goal and DeMbare were fortunate enough when Joao Barros’ header from a corner kick was scrambled out from the line. The draw was a bitter pill to swallow for the multitudes of the DeMbare fans who appeared discontented by their team’s poor showing.
Dynamos committee member Nyika Chifamba was nearly man-handled by some rowdy fans who accused him and club secretary Simon Sachiti of using juju to bewitch the team.
The Dynamos executive have proposed an emergency meeting with the technical team to discuss the team’s performance.
Pasuwa conceded they now have mountains to climb in the reverse leg.
“This is a setback for us. Maybe we have to go there and fight hard in the return leg to get a result,” said Pasuwa.
“I am not happy at all with our performance. Instead of passing the ball well, we were just pumping upfront and we gave them too much room to play through the wings. But we were better in the second half,” said Pasuwa.
Interclube coach Bernadino Pedroto was happy with the draw and is now looking forward to the return leg.
“I was happy with the performance of my team and being the first leg we played, it’s still game on. When we face Dynamos in the second leg, I would have worked on our weakness and I now know Dynamos’ type of play and their key players.
“I felt we were unlucky not to score and I was not amused by the match officials when they disallowed our goal and I believe it was the turning point and Dynamos survived,” said Pedroto.
Teams
Dynamos: W. Arubi, D. Kutyauripo, A. Mbara, P. Jaure, G. Zhokinyi, M. Makopa, A. Kaseloki (M. Vengesai, 80th minute), T. Magorimbo, D. Mukamba, T. Chinyama (D. Kabwe, 66th minute), R. Mutuma
Interclube: H. Mario, J. Mpongo, H. Tomas (Pingo, 82nd minute), F. Rocha, F, Mafuta, Nuno, Alex ( Lara, 70th minute), J. Barros (Moco, 78th minute), K. Joao, E. Ponzo.
Online Reporter