Online Reporter
Innocent Kurira at Barbourfields Stadium
Highlanders 1-1 Dynamos
THE Battle of Zimbabwe ended all square at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday, but while the scoreboard read 1-1 after 90 pulsating minutes, Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe ensured the conversation would continue long after the final whistle by dismissing Highlanders’ pre-match training boycott as little more than “mind games.”
Before a packed Barbourfields crowd, Highlanders and Dynamos served up another enthralling chapter of the country’s biggest football rivalry, with goals from Benjamin Adeogun and Frank Agyemang earning the two giants a share of the spoils.
The result extended the debate surrounding Highlanders’ preparations for the match after players downed tools earlier in the week over outstanding salaries and winning bonuses.
While the strike dominated headlines in the build-up, Mangombe insisted there was little evidence of a team whose preparations had been disrupted.
“Some of these things are actually mind games. You know a professional player, even if he is not training as a team, they were training individually. You can tell from their off-the-ball movements and they wanted to play even 10 minutes injury time. They were fit. Those were mind games,” said Mangombe.
The Dynamos coach felt his side had matched a highly motivated Highlanders team.
“I think we have done our best given the way our opponents wanted the three points,” he said.
Highlanders coach Benjani Mwaruwari, whose side entered the match amid uncertainty and off-field distractions, viewed the result differently.
“I will say it’s a point gained considering the preparations that we had. Even if you look at the goal Dynamos scored, there is nothing we can do about that goal. Overall it was a good game of football,” said Mwaruwari.
The atmosphere at Barbourfields provided a fitting backdrop for the occasion. The Soweto Stand was a sea of black and white while the Empankweni Stand rallied behind the Bulawayo giants. At the Mpilo End, Dynamos supporters responded with their own wall of blue and white as the country’s biggest football fixture unfolded.
Highlanders started brightly and looked the more threatening side in the opening exchanges, testing the Dynamos defence as they attacked the Mpilo End.
The hosts were rewarded three minutes before halftime when Mongameli Tshuma won a penalty after a dangerous attack into the Dynamos box. Up stepped Benjamin Adeogun, who calmly converted from the spot in the 42nd minute to send the Bosso faithful into wild celebrations and give Highlanders a deserved 1-0 lead at the break.
Dynamos emerged from the dressing room with renewed purpose and found their equaliser nine minutes into the second half through a moment of real quality.
Perfect Chikwende produced an intelligent lay-off that invited Frank Agyemang to strike, and the Ghanaian did not disappoint. Agyemang unleashed a superb finish in the 54th minute, leaving the Highlanders defence and goalkeeper with little chance as Dynamos restored parity in spectacular fashion.
It was the type of goal that perhaps explained Mwaruwari’s post-match assessment that there was little his team could have done to prevent it.
The game remained finely balanced thereafter, with both teams pushing for a winner.
Highlanders came closest to snatching victory in the 75th minute when Tshuma found himself with what appeared to be a simple finish after a dangerous move. However, the forward blazed over the crossbar, leaving thousands of home supporters clutching their heads in disbelief.
The miss proved costly.
Benjani introduced fan favourite Kudakwashe Mahachi in the closing stages as Bosso searched for a breakthrough, while Andrew Mbeba’s deliveries into the penalty area repeatedly raised hopes among the home faithful.
But Dynamos stood firm.
As the clock ticked into the 90th minute, thousands inside Barbourfields willed their teams forward in search of a dramatic winner. None arrived.
Instead, the final whistle confirmed a result that neither side would celebrate nor lament too heavily — a draw in the
Battle of Zimbabwe, where the football entertained and the post-match mind games continued.
The match featured Zimbabwe’s traditional football powerhouses, Highlanders FC and Dynamos FC, sharing the spoils in front of a packed Barbourfields Stadium.
Highlanders
Aron Ngwenya, Nomore Chinyerere, Mongameli Tshuma (Sherperd Mhlanga 79′), Prince Ndlovu (Never Rauzhi 60′), Royn Nyamono (Lawrence Mhlanga 79′), Andrew Mbeba, Rainsome Pavari, Tawanda M Shenje, Darlington Mukuli (Kudakwashe Mahachi 79′), Luckmore Mutumbi, Benjamin Adeogun
Dynamos
Tatenda W. Makoni, Wisdom Mtasa (Tellmore M. Pio 55′), Leeroy Mavunga (Moses Demera 85′), Frank Agyemang (Enasio Perez Jr 85′) , Abel Gwatidzo, Gumisa C. Mandivei, Anotidaishe Gwatidzo (Jairos Kasondo 30′), Perfect Chikwende, Isaac Landu Tendaise L. Magwaza
Bongani Ndlovu