adminDynamos jetted at Aeroporto De Mavalane Airport in Maputo aboard South African Airways in the afternoon and were taken to Hotel Africa the owner being the vice-president of Liga Muculmana. Upon checking in at the three-star hotel, the delegation were told by hotel staff that the Liga Muculmana vice-president only booked for accommodation and Dynamos has to cater for themselves in terms of food for the duration of their stay.
Last night, the Dynamos management that included committee member Simon Sachiti, secretary-general Raymond Kazembe and the head of delegation Patrick Hill,
were making frantic efforts with the aid of the Zimbabwe Embassy to look for food as the players complained of hunger.
Away from the mind games, head coach Callisto Pasuwa bemoaned the exclusion of defender Guthrie Zhokinyi who was dropped from the travelling party a few hours before departure, having received a red card in the last Champions League match they played in Algeria last year.
“In the absence of Zhokinyi, we have to assess the youngster Partson Jaure who has been playing in the central defence with captain George Magariro during the off-season friendly matches. We might be left with no option but to throw him into the deep end,” said Pasuwa.
The Dynamos gaffer indicated that he managed to get some inside information on their opponents from David Mandigora who had a coaching stint in Mozambique with
Costa dol Sol. Pasuwa said their opponents are good in keeping possession and are effective on the wings.
He reckoned that there is need for the players not to give Liga Muculmana too much space and close them early before they reach their half. He remains confident that his players will rise to the occasion and come out with a positive result.
Meanwhile, Liga Muculmana boosts of eight senior national team players for Mozambique and have one foreign-based player in the form of a Brazilian. They played in the preliminary round against FC Mafunzo of Zanzibar and in both legs, Liga Muculmana won 3-0 to win 6-0 on aggregate and set a date with Dynamos in the first round.
Last year, Liga Muculmana were knocked out in the first round by Zambian side Zanaco. They are hoping to break the jinx and go past the first round by dumping Dynamos out of the tournament. Coach Semedo was in charge of Liga Muculmana last year when they lost to Zanaco and is eager to redeem the lost pride. They have two league titles under their belt since their formation in 1999.
Online Reporter