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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya is keen to sign off the season on a high when the giants engage traditional rivals CAPS United in the Harare Derby that is set to bring down the curtain on a rather forgettable season.
The Glamour Boys, who have experienced highs and lows in the current season, are looking to sign off on a positive note.
One of the highs was the 3-0 triumph over the Green Machine in the first instalment of the Harare Derby at the National Sports Stadium back in June.
CAPS United have had worse troubles compared to Dynamos, on and off the pitch, because of financial challenges and will now end the season outside the top 10.
But can DeMbare, who still have a mathematical chance of nailing a second place finish, replicate the reverse leg feat?
That’s the big question as the Glamour Boys go into the derby on the back of a depressing run of results in their last three games. They have managed only one point in those three games from the goalless draw against Highlanders. The draw was sandwiched by defeats at the hands of Herentals on Sunday and Division One-bound Bulawayo City a fortnight ago.
Ndiraya, however, is hoping his charges, who have not been able to score a goal in those previous three outings, will find their best form against the sworn crosstown rivals.
“We should be up for it; it’s a difficult one,” he said.
“Derbies are always difficult but always unpredictable. We are going in there with a defeat (to Herentals) and that is really going to put pressure on us. But that’s the nature of the game.
“We played the first derby and won and it is our hope that we can do well and win this one. Despite it being a derby, you always want to win the last game of the season so that you end the season on a high. But I must confess, it’s a difficult one,” said Ndiraya.
Ndiraya is battling to win back the hearts of the Dynamos supporters, who apparently have turned their backs on their team following an unsuccessful campaign that could see them end in third place.
The former midfielder in particular has been targeted by sections of DeMbare fans after the Glamour Boys failed to wrestle the league title away from FC Platinum.
They are set to end the season with no silverware for the eighth year running as they were knocked out of the Chibuku Super Cup at the quarter-final stage.
Dynamos made massive investment in players after landing a lucrative sponsorship deal with Sakunda Holdings before the start of the season.
The investments have raised the expectations among the fans who were desperate to see their club win their first league title since 2014. But the Harare giants failed dismally to keep pace with champions FC Platinum, who wrapped up the title race with three games remaining. And, ahead of the final round of games, the Glamour Boys find themselves trailing the platinum miners by 15 points.
FC Platinum are set to be crowned champions at Mandava this weekend, for the fourth season running.
This is a huge source of pain to the Dynamos fans, whose team invested in over 20 new players, and started off the season on sound footing before losing steam in the second half.
Ndiraya holds that DeMbare are still rebuilding. He is keen to see continuity in the team, although most of the supporters are more than happy to see his back.
The coach, however, has received overwhelming support from the team’s management. Ndiraya’s contract is set to expire at the end of the year but the Dynamos leadership has been on record in support of the coach.
Ndiraya said Dynamos could not stand the pressure this year because they had too many new players. He however believes they will come back a strong force next season if the team is not tampered with.
“Most of the guys, it’s their first full season with us and it’s extremely difficult for them to handle some of the pressure. But I am happy that with that pressure, I think the team has done extremely well.
“It’s been a learning curve for some of them but you know how it is with our team. It’s difficult because of the pressure. But going forward, I guess most of them would know what it takes to play for Dynamos and the pressure associated with the team.
“It is about handling the pressure associated with our team. Of course, some of them, I thought they handled that pressure quite well. Otherwise it was going to be disastrous.
“Despite getting nothing out of the season, I think we must also give it up to those players who joined us this year — quite a number of them — for the show they put up.
“Of course, the expectations were so high but you can’t assemble a team in one season and win the title. Football is a process and we are in the process of building a team.
“It is my feeling that if we retain most of the players that we have and add a few in the areas that need to be reinforced, the team will be strong next year and we will be up for competition,” said Ndiraya.
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