Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi
Zimpapers Sports Hub
DYNAMOS coach Kelvin Kaindu says the Harare giants will throw everything into today’s Chibuku Super Cup quarterfinal against ZPC Kariba as they chase a third straight title in the tournament.
The Glamour Boys, winners of the 2023 and 2024 editions, view the cup as their only realistic shot at silverware after another frustrating league campaign. They last won the league in 2014 and Kaindu admits the drought still stings.
“This is a cup game, there must be a winner at the end of the day,” he said. “We are playing a team that is unpredictable. They are able to pull a surprise, but looking at the way that we have performed in the league, it’s far away from us. Maybe the only consolation that we have is for us to focus on the Chibuku Super Cup as defending champions.
“So it’s not a game that we are going with a mind that is going to be easy. Our approach is just for us to be ready and believe that we are going to this game as defending champions. We are taking every game seriously. I say that the league of course is far away from us; we can’t talk about winning the championship. The only consolation that we have now is the Chibuku Cup which we are playing.”
Dynamos’ cup pedigree gives them confidence. They beat ZPC Kariba 3-1 in last year’s first round on their way to the trophy and edged them 1-0 in a group match when the tournament returned in 2021. This season, however, the sides have drawn both league meetings without a goal.
Kaindu’s options look strong. Midfielder Temptation Chiwunga is the only casualty after picking up an injury in last week’s goalless draw with Triangle. “From the team that played in the last game, Temptation, that is the one that has not been training this week,” Kaindu said. “But the good news is Frank (Agyeman) started training last week. Even this week he was doing full training. We did a bit of a fitness test just to check on him. I think he looks better, he may not be 100 percent fit and ready for the game, but he is available for selection.”
Dynamos have found some form under the Zambian coach, winning four and drawing one of their recent league games while claiming two cup wins. Their path to the last eight has not been easy. Forced into the preliminary round because of a low league placing at the time of the draw, they eliminated Yadah Stars and Simba Bhora, both via penalties.
“We have done well in the last two games that we have played in the Chibuku Super Cup, qualifying of course through penalties, also playing against teams like Simba Bhora. It shows that we have got the pedigree. If we believe in ourselves and have got confidence, playing also at home, with the crowd also backing us, supporting the team, I am sure we should be ready,” Kaindu said. “But we don’t want to underrate our opponents, we know what they can do on their day, but we believe in ourselves and we just want to hope and believe that we get a positive result.”
ZPC Kariba are not expected to make things easy. They have set their sights on going beyond their best run in the competition, a semi-final finish in 2019.
Chibuku Super Cup Quarterfinal Fixtures
Today: Manica Diamonds v Triangle (Sakubva), Dynamos v ZPC Kariba (Rufaro)
Tomorrow: Bikita Minerals v MWOS (Gibbo), Highlanders v Scottland (Barbourfields)
