Maringwa seeks turning point

Castle Lager Premiership derby showdown could mark the turning point of their faltering championship campaign.
CAPS United and Dynamos square off in the 67th edition of the famous Harare derby at the National Sports Stadium that has a number of sub-plots given the set-up of the two giants’ camps. It will be a touchline battle of wits between former Dynamos midfielders Moses Chunga and Lloyd Mutasa who are now in charge of Makepekepe and DeMbare respectively.
Apart from guaranteeing the winner three priceless points, a victory will also give the winners bragging rights that will reverberate in the capital for the remainder of the 2011 season.
Maringwa, a veteran of derby clashes, returned to training this week, boosting under-pressure coach Lloyd Mutasa’s selection options for the big tie. The DeMbare skipper also challenged some of his rookie teammates to rise to the big occasion.
“I think it is a game that is always interesting and can also be very difficult. It will give a chance to the youngsters who joined us this season to get the derby feeling.
“You always want to win it and there is always pride in winning the derby, it is not just about the points,” Maringwa said.
The 33-year-old midfielder, who has only played for Dynamos, said although his side was still smarting from their surprise 2-1 reverse against newboys Blue Ribbon at Rufaro last Sunday, DeMbare were geared for the clash against the “real enemy”.
“I think it has come at a good time when we are still in the challenge for the title. We cannot lose two games on the trot. We are coming from a defeat and we have to rise again on Sunday”.
Maringwa noted that Dynamos’ biggest undoing so far this season has been a lack of consistency, which has seen Mutasa’s men operate in fits and starts.
“Our concentration level has to be high in every game especially against a team like CAPS United. We have been talking about it as a team and we have also talked to the youngsters about the need for us to have consistency.
“I think if we win against CAPS it will change things for us. I would like to believe that it will trigger a good run for us and we could see more consistency from this team . . . we are not a bad side,” Maringwa said.
Maringwa, who is also the leader of the Footballers Union of Zimbabwe missed Dynamos’ last assignment against Blue Ribbon as he had just returned from an International Federation of Professional Footballers Africa Division Congress in Casablanca, Morocco.
The Dynamos skipper is one of a few seasoned players, including defensive rock Guthrie Zhokinyi and diminutive midfielder Farai Vimisai, who have returned to training ahead of the derby.
“I was injured prior to the FIFPro meeting then I went out for a week to Morocco on FUZ business where we had an opportunity to discuss so many issues to do with our players.
“The African Division of FIFPro were also happy with the progress that FUZ has made.
“This meeting precedes the FIFPro Congress that will be held in November in Israel where as Zimbabwe we are gunning for full membership because at the moment we are a candidate member but it feels great to be back and I am feeling really up to it.
“Even if I play for 20 minutes or the entire game I will give it my best and I will continue to guide the youngsters on the pitch.
“It’s also good to see guys like Guthrie, Thomas Magorimbo and Milton Makopa back in training.
“Everybody wants to be part of the derby and it has been pushing everyone to train hard and hopefully by the end of the week of training we will have as many players as possible fit for selection,” Maringwa said.
Maringwa also got the backing of another long-serving Dynamos son Murape Murape in rallying Dynamos for their massive showdown with CAPS United. Murape challenged the current Dynamos players to prove that they are “worthy of putting on the blue jersey”.
“Derby ties are special games, they do not come week in week out,” Murape said.
Murape said they were aware of the CAPS United threat.
“It will not be an easy game, derby ties are never easy, they can go either way so we have to be lion-hearted.
“We have been training well, we have a new team that is still to really gel but which is eager to win this derby. Unlike other games the derby result is spoken about for a long time.
“We know that losing is part of the game but we wouldn’t want to be the ones to lose this one,” Murape said.
DeMbare, Murape said, needed to be more consistent if they were to have any say in the destiny of the championship.
“Hopefully we can then go on a good run after the CAPS game,” Murape said.
Murape is also banking on their experienced defence to be the rock on which Dynamos could build their success on derby Sunday.
“We have an experienced defence and we have to keep an eye on CAPS United’s attacking potential, they have one of the best attacks in the league and hopefully our defenders can come out good and stop the likes of Sithole and Gwekwerere.
“We just have to make sure we do not give CAPS United space from midfield going up into attack. But we are not a bad side, it is just that at times we have not been lucky and in some games we just lacked the grit to grind out results and we have been working hard on that.
“We hope everyone will be back for the match including Archie Gutu,” Murape said.
Murape, who was captain in 2008, also made a passionate plea to the DeMbare fans to avoid booing their players during the derby clash.
“The fans have to be patient with the young players that we have, some of them joined the club this year, we had good pre-season results and if we avoid putting them under so much pressure they can find that kind of form again.
“”What we have seen is that our supporters are no longer singing for the team to create an intimidating atmosphere for the opponents… they only wake up when there has been a goal and that is not good enough.
“The reason why this team is also called Chazunguza is because of the 12th man the supporters and the role they can play to help us win games and that is what we need on Sunday against CAPS.
“We know that many people love Dynamos but they must also understand that we also hate to lose so everyone must encourage the players from the administrators to the fans.
“As senior players we have also told the youngsters about the significance of wearing the blue Dynamos jersey and that it means to all the blue masses around the country who follow this team religiously,” Murape said.
With his captain Maringwa back and the trio of Zhokinyi, star midfielder Gutu and Vimisai also available, Mutasa should have a chance to send out a stronger side than the one, which put on a sterile show when crashing to Blue Ribbon.