Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
DYNAMOS coach Kelvin Kaindu says captain Emmanuel Jalai has every detail an ideal winger should possess, but he has to add goals to complete the profile.
Jalai has, of late, been a topical figure for the way he is trying to lead the Glamour Boys out of the relegation storm that is threatening this storied club’s top-flight football legacy.
Dynamos have never been relegated from the elite league.
Instead they are record winners of the championship title.
But this season, the Harare giants are deep in the relegation zone, and they need to be different in the last three games of the season if they are to survive the lurking danger.
With 34 points to tag along from 31 matches this term, Dynamos sit in 15th place despite a recent rich vein of form that has helped them keep relegation rivals like Manica Diamonds, Chicken Inn, Bikita Minerals, GreenFuel and Triangle in check.
It is Jalai who has been leading the late recovery with some energetic performances that have caught the eyes of many.
But for all his forward forays and hybrid passes, the diminutive defender is lacking the assists and goals in the final third.
Jalai has scored a single goal in the league, a penalty in the first instalment of the Harare Derby against CAPS United at Rufaro.
But the Warriors man showed he can get on the score-sheet often with more attempts when he netted an audacious volley in the Chibuku Super Cup semi-final win over Highlanders last Sunday.
His coach Kaindu wants the Warriors man to score more frequently for him to be a complete fullback and help Dynamos avoid the chop.
The 20-time champions can significantly help themselves up the ladder if they beat Bikita Minerals at Rufaro tomorrow.
Kaindu said: “I am happy to see Jalai scoring (in the Chibuku Super Cup).
“What a goal it was. And I have always said for him to be a complete player he has to score more goals.
“He’s got everything, but for him to be a complete player, he has to start scoring because there is no player that can be compared to the skills that he has as a right-back.
“But what’s left is for him to start giving us goals.
“And we just hope and pray that he’ll still give us more goals to come out with.”
While Dynamos recorded what could be a confidence-boosting win over Bosso, albeit from the kick-in penalty-shootout lottery, Chibuku Super Cup semi-final, Kaindu wants his charges to be meticulous against a Bikita Minerals side who were buoyed by their emphatic 3-0 league win over Herentals a fortnight ago.
“Bikita Minerals are a good team; they are strong and a bit unpredictable. They are coming, I think from a very convincing victory from the last game that they played.
“They are not far away from us and I believe every team would want to capitalise and probably go for maximum points.
“And obviously, this is a game that some would term a six-pointer. Of course, our objective is for us to get a positive result, but we don’t want to get carried away before we play,” said Kaindu.
“We know that Bikita is going to come with everything that they have and it’s not going to be easy, but we want to focus on what we can do and hopefully we will remain consistent in terms of us getting goals.
“The motivation for us is to get to survive. We have showed improvement looking at the way that we have performed this year.”
But before they can troop into their Rufaro pitch tomorrow, knowing fully it could be one of their last days to play there as a Premiership team, Dynamos will follow today’s action across the country with keen interest.
Relegation rivals Yadah Stars can catch up with them if they beat Herentals at Rufaro this afternoon but that could be of little concern for them, as what they will be praying for is for Ngezi Platinum Stars to beat Manica Diamonds at Sakubva.
DeMbare will also be praying that MWOS overcome Triangle at Ngoni in a second successive meeting between the two sides, following their Chibuku Super Cup clash at the same venue last Saturday.
Kaindu and his men will also be keenly following events at Ascot, where TelOne host GreenFuel.
They will also be hoping that CAPS United will hand them a big favour by halting Chicken Inn’s resurgence at Luveve.
Fixtures:
Today: TelOne v GreenFuel (Ascot), MWOS v Triangle (Ngoni), Chicken Inn v CAPS United (Luveve), Manica Diamonds v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Sakubva), Herentals v Yadah Stars (Rufaro), ZPC Kariba v FC Platinum (Nyamhunga), Simba Bhora v Highlanders (Wadzanayi)
Tomorrow: Kwekwe v Scottland (Ascot), Dynamos v Bikita Minerals (Rufaro)
