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Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
DISCONTENTMENT is starting to build up in the Dynamos camp, just a few days into the 2023 Castle Lager Premiership football season.
DeMbare fans were left with divided opinions following Sunday’s stunning 3-2 defeat to Bulawayo Chiefs in a league match at the National Sports Stadium.
Some were left doubting the pedigree of their team and the technical team led by Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa while others felt the team needed more time before it starts winning consistently since it was still a new unit.
Others went on the overdrive, especially after the revelations that Dynamos legend Sunday “Mhofu” Chidzambwa was planning to come out of retirement, and were already touting for the 70-year-old to return to the club.
A section of visibly angry Dynamos supporters booed their own players while applauding the opponents as a means of venting out their frustrations at the end of the game.
Some were captured on camera denouncing their team’s performance and the coach’s perceived lack of depth while others felt the best days are still ahead since the team is virtually a new outfit which may need time to gel.
Dynamos had not lost a game in five starts and the defeat to Bulawayo Chiefs was their first this season. But the supporters’ frustrations might have stemmed from the fact that their team had not won in their last three outings.
They played goalless draws against minnows Simba Bhora and Cranborne Bullets before they became the first team to lose to Bulawayo Chiefs this season.
So, the Glamour Boys have only managed two points from a possible nine in the last month, and that is not a good statistic.
Dynamos last won a match on March 26 when they thrashed new boys Sheasham 4-0 at the National Sports Stadium.
They had also beaten Hwange 1-0 before the difficult patch kicked in. Apart from the woes they are facing in the league marathon, they also fell at the hands of traditional rivals Highlanders in last week’s Independence Trophy final in Mt Darwin.
Apparently, the Dynamos fans had huge expectations from their team following a sound pre-season programme which saw the Glamour Boys hiring a new technical team as well as buying more than a dozen new players to beef-up their team.
Ideally, it may be early to conclude that head coach Maruwa has failed but flashes of doubt are beginning to creep in among the Dynamos fans.
DeMbare dropped to seventh place on the log standings with eight points in the bag. They are not far off the pace, with rivals CAPS United sitting at the top with 12 points. Obviously the Dynamos fans will not be happy to see Makepekepe dominating.
But the Green Machine have made a promising start and the away point they got in the goalless draw at Chicken Inn on Sunday in Bulawayo was crucial.
Dynamos still have a game in hand — the Battle of Zimbabwe blockbuster with Highlanders that was postponed two weeks ago to pave the way for the Uhuru Cup final.
Maruwa believes he can get the team out of their current misery but the defeat to Chiefs was a major source of panic among the fans, especially with the Harare Derby against CAPS United coming this Sunday.
Dynamos, who until Sunday had not conceded a goal, capitulated in spectacular fashion on Sunday at the hands of Bulawayo Chiefs.
Twice they had to come from behind, with the first goal coming in controversial circumstances after referee Tichaona Mbire awarded them a dubious penalty midway through the first half to cancel out Chiefs’ lead.
But they were no match for Lizwe Sweswe’s men. DeMbare conceded all the three goals in similar fashion — headers from crosses. The Dynamos defenders and their goalkeeper Taimon Mvula were caught in sixes and sevens when dealing with aerial balls inside their penalty box and they were duly punished.
Impressive Bulawayo Chiefs playmaker Mthokozisi Msebe opened the scoring and veteran Danny “Deco” Phiri weighed in with a brace to down the Glamour Boys, who had twice equalised through Frank Makarati’s penalty conversion and Tanaka Shandirwa’s close range finish in their quest to avoid humiliation.
“I think our defending was not good,” said Maruwa.
“We have been defending very well in all our games and this is the first time that we have conceded three goals through headers.
“Maybe there was a lot of complacency at the back. We did very well in terms of coming back but our defending wasn’t okay. Our tracking in the box was not good. “We need to make sure that we go back to the drawing board and rectify the problem,” said Maruwa.
Dynamos are set to play traditional arch-rivals CAPS United in their next assignment this Sunday at the National Sports Stadium.
Online Reporter