Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
Dynamos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1)1
Herentals College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
DYNAMOS, never at their best, still dropped a reminder of their enduring status as a giant of local football when they dragged themselves over the line against Herentals at Rufaro yesterday.
The narrow win, which they squeezed almost out of nothing, carried them to third on the log with 50 points, 11 off leaders Scottland.
Arithmetically, the victory, delivered through a cocky Frank Agyemang’s 12th goal of the season, kept the Glamour Boys in the championship discourse, but realistically their chance, which has been their aim as well, is a top-four finish.
Not so long ago, DeMbare were firmly in title talks after stitching together crucial wins, but they suddenly boiled off and allowed Scottland and second-placed Hardrock to stretch further away from them.
Their exit from both the Chibuku Super Cup and Munhumutapa Cup during that period, not helped by some usual executive turmoil that has left the club with only the chairman, Vincent Chawonza, to run their affairs, didn’t help matters either.
There were even dramatic scenes at the VVIP Enclosure at Rufaro during yesterday’s match in which a section of Dynamos fans shouted at Chawonza, who sat sandwiched by bouncers.
That ugly sideshow looked to resonate with how DeMbare were performing in the field of play.
But at the end of it all, there was jubilation after the giants showed grit to score and heart to defend their lead until the last minute, with the win calming down some nerves in the stands, especially after Aristica Cioaba’s had gone for four games without a win in all competitions.
“I think after a number of games without a win, we put ourselves in this situation.
“First, I want to say congratulations to the players for today’s performance, for their spirit and their fight. Three points were possible in this game, and it was important because this week was very bad for us.
“Everyone was talking negatively. It’s normal; this is football. When you work for a month under pressure, you lose a cup, you go out, and everyone attacks the club, attacks the staff, attacks the players,” said Cioaba.
“But people don’t understand football. It’s not only us who went out of the cup; other big clubs went out too, but I didn’t see the same negativity.
“Congratulations to the players because this week, I was working alone. Nobody came to motivate them. I stayed with the players on the pitch every day. I tried to lift their morale, to make them believe again that it is possible to win games, to make them believe again that this team can finish in the top four.”
Cioaba declared last week that he would walk off the job if Dynamos fail to clip a top-four finish, and on Saturday, club board chairman Benard Marriot visited the team to give them his support.
“Also, I want to dedicate these three points as a gift to Boss Marriot for coming yesterday (Saturday) and giving us a clear message. He gave us morale, and that was good for us.
“Our sponsor, as I said before, gives us all the conditions we need, but right now we need to be closer to the players.
“Morale is coming up after this win, but this week, only I understood them.”
Yet it was all Herentals from start to finish, but Dynamos pocketed the points nevertheless.
Prince Mahembe, Erick Dombo and Kundai Sangare fluffed chances, most of them very clear, for Herentals College.
And against the run of play, DeMbare found themselves in the lead. Agyemang, with his never-die attitude, pursued a loose ball; it was too loose it looked like a lost cause for him.
But with Prince Chama hesitant and Herentals goalkeeper Tinotenda Takarinda drawn out, there was a mix-up which Agyemang took full advantage of to slide the ball into an empty net.
Herentals coach Paul Benza said they worked against themselves.
“I think today we lost to ourselves more than anything else. We got a lot of chances, and we should have been in the game in the first few minutes,” said Benza.
“The goal we conceded was a schoolboy blunder. That is avoidable. We just gave it away again.
“We need to do better than that, and of course we are looking at top four.
“The strategy was to run down the opponent from the first whistle, and it was paying off because we were getting chances, those rebounds that we were not finishing. If we had been a bit fortunate, or if the boys had just concentrated in those early minutes, we were supposed to bury those rebounds and win the game.”
At 48 points, Herentals are still dreaming of a top-four finish which is by all accounts achievable.
Meanwhile, Triangle United breathed fresh life into their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League survival bid after edging Bulawayo Chiefs 2-1 at Luveve yesterday.
Emmanuel Paga put Triangle in front after 25 minutes before Chiefs responded through Clive Rupiya to restore parity.
The visitors, however, refused to settle for a point and regained the advantage in the second half through Aaron Zeka, who struck the decisive goal.
