dyton mupawaenda
Lawrence Moyo
FORGOTTEN champions Dynamos will host bogey side, Chicken Inn in a Castle Lager Premiership match at Rufaro on Sunday with coach Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe assured that he does not have the worst record YET.
Dynamos fans have watched scarier movies before.
When Dynamos suffered a 1-0 loss against Manica Diamonds at Sakubva Stadium on Saturday, Mablanyo said they now needed to make the most of home advantage in their upcoming fixtures in the capital, starting on Sunday against bogey side, Chicken Inn.
“I think the team showed potential. They showed class and I am happy with that even though it remains painful that we could not get a goal or two after creating so many chances. Our opponents made the most of the few chances they created in the first half, and they got the goal that made the difference.
“Going forward, we need to ensure that we post good results at home if we are to remain relevant in the title race towards the end of the season. We just have to stay focused,” said Mablanyo.
Even if Dynamos lose their sixth game of the season on Sunday, Mablanyo’s record for the first six games will not be the worst in the nine seasons since DeMbare were crowned Premiership champions in 2014. Dynamos were champions for four successive seasons between 2011 and 2014, were runners up in the 2015 season and have been nowhere near the title since. This season Dynamos are 11th with six points from the opening five matches and have a miserly two goals.
It is a very poor record and only two other teams − Chicken Inn and ZPC Kariba have done worse with just one goal in five matches.
Dynamos have managed to score for themselves just once while the other goal came from a TelOne defender, who beat his own goalkeeper at Rufaro.
Chicken Inn have been terrible so far this season and are one of only three teams without a win after five rounds of matches − the other two are Triangle and Bikita Minerals, who are the bottom two teams.
Sunday’s trip to Rufaro might be the last for veteran and championship-winning coach, Joey Antipas if Chicken Inn are to lose against Dynamos and that makes Mablanyo’s challenge at the weekend tougher.
Antipas and Chicken Inn, however, enjoy playing against Dynamos and will be fired up when they walk onto the Rufaro pitch on Sunday.
Despite winning the Castle Challenge Cup against Simba Bhora on February 22, Dynamos have been boring to watch in terms of goals.
Their five games so far have only had four goals compared to, for example, 14 in matches involving Greenfuel, 13 in Highlanders’ matches and 12 for TelOne and Bikita Minerals.
Mablanyo will blame it on the instability of the squad, which is rebuilt almost every year. This tends to affect the rhythm of the team as new combinations have to be established every new season.
Currently Mablanyo’s record for Dynamos after five matches since their last title is ranked fifth out of nine seasons, meaning there are four better seasons and four worse seasons.
In the nine seasons under review, Dynamos avoided defeat in the opening five matches just once in 2023 when they achieved two draws and three defeats. However, this season is joint worst in terms of goals scored as the only other time they managed two goals in five matches was in 2016 and 2022.
This season, Mablanyo’s boys have fired blanks in three matches against Manica Diamonds, Herentals and ZPC Kariba.
The worst start by Dynamos over five matches was in 2018 when they scrambled draws against Shabanie Mine (3-3) and ZPC Kariba (0-0) while losing to Chicken Inn, Ngezi Platinum and Highlanders. They lost 12 games in the season and eventually finished on 11th place, a massive 36 points behind champions FC Platinum.
Online Reporter