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The Herald, June 2, 1984
DYNAMOS could be on a military soccer manoeuvre at Rufaro Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
Mission: To seek out and destroy Kampala City Council of Uganda
Objective: To qualify for the African Club Champions Cup quarter finals tournament.
Dynamos strategy was spelt out by head coach Obadiah Sarupinda yesterday.
“It is going to be a do-or-die mission for us at Rufaro on Sunday,” said the former national team captain.
“We all know how important this game is to us and we are doing everything in our power to see we accomplish our mission.”
However, Sarupinda was the first to admit that their task will not be easy tomorrow. The teams played a scoreless draw in the first leg in Uganda a fortnight ago.
“We don’t want to make excuses for failing to win in Uganda, but it must be pointed out that we were late in arriving in Kampala.
“We got there only a few hours before the match and did not have enough time to acclimatise or get used to their bumpy fields.”
Having held KCC to a draw at their own home ground, Sarupinda is optimistic about their chance tomorrow.
“We have trained extra hard and we are ready for them,” he said.
One thing that Dynamos will be guarding against is a goal draw. If this should happen the Ugandans will be through to the next round because away goals count double if the aggregate score is level.
“We must beat them 1-0 or 2-1,” said Dynamos secretary Simon Sachiti.
Dynamos might go into the match without star striker Edward Katsvere, who has been out of action because of a leg injury.
Katsvere might have to go through a late fitness test, but yesterday the talented left-winger was on the touchline while Dynamos was training.
KCC, who trained at Gwanzura stadium on Thursday, had their first feel of Rufaro turf when they switched their match preparations to the match venue.
The emphasis of their last-minute preparations has been on sharpening their speed and accurate shooting in front of goals.
It is hard to predict the outcome of this match, but judging by the manner in which the teams have been preparing for the confrontation fans are sure to get their money’s worth.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
When preparing for a very important event such as a crucial soccer match it is critical that everyone involved put in maximum effort to get the desired result.
Dynamos was in need of a win to progress and they executed the job like a military exercise and came up 2-1 winners.
The extra player in any football match is the supporter. Supporters can make a difference in a match by how passionately they support their team. But for supporters to do their jobs, they need to be entertained by players on the field of play.
The current Dynamos players and those of other teams in the Premier Soccer League are failing to attract supporters to stadiums because they are not playing entertaining football.
Dynamos remains the country’s most successful soccer club despite its waning fortunes. The team started playing continental football soon after independence and went all the way to the CAF champions league finals in 1998 where they were beaten 4-2 by Asec Mimosa of Côte d’Ivoire after the two team had drawn nil all in the first leg in Harare.
Online Reporter