Mbada excites Mutuma

the inaugural final to hand Dyna-mos a 1-0 win over Motor Action on a rain-drenched afternoon at the National Sports Stadium on November 27.
He was also joint Golden Boot Awa-rd winner of the tournament after scoring twice in the competition.
In a memorable season for him, in which Dynamos won the league and cup double, Mutuma was also the Premiership’s top scorer with 14 goals.
But the goals have not been coming with the same regularity for Mutuma as they did last year and Dynamos have had to rely on their midfielders for a constant supply of goals.
Mutuma, however, ended his mini-goal drought on Sunday when he fired home Dynamos’ fourth goal in their 4-0 league demolition of Gunners.
Such was the impact of his goal, after a lengthy barren spell in which fans had started doubting him.
Mutuma openly wept as he struggled to deal with the emotions.
And, with news that the draw for the first round of the Mbada Diamonds Cup has been set for tomorrow night, Mutuma, as is the case with the majority of the local top-flight players, said he was relishing the opportunity of making a name for himself again in the tournament.
Mutuma said he was aware that although the competition is yet to start, the spotlight would be on holders Dynamos and whether they will have the capacity to successfully defend the title they won after negotiating a tough road on their way to glory.
On their way to winning to the first Mbada Cup title, Dynamos overcame bitter rivals CAPS United at the National Sports Stadium, accounted for Shootings Stars in Zvishavane and saw off FC Platinum at Barbourfields.
Mutuma then struck the final goal of the 2011 competition with his effort settling matters in a closely contested affair in which ageless goalkeeper Marlon Jani, his Dynamos counterpart Washington Arubi and Isaac Masame played well.
Now that the Mbada Cup is back again for its second edition, Mutuma dreams of rocking to the good times he enjoyed last year.
“We are the cup holders and we really need to fight hard to defend that title. It is a good thing that the Mbada Cup is back again. It is not going to be easy because in the cup games there is no second chance, there is no time to make a mistake . . . if you slip you are out.
“The Mbada Diamonds is the richest cup and it has many incentives for us as players and it has a number of awards like the best goalkeeper, best player, and top scorer so everyone is really excited about it,’’ Mutuma said.
Mutuma also spoke about his goal drought and said the encouragement he got from his coach Callisto Pasuwa and the rest of the team inspired him to fight on during his barren spell.
“My coach and my teammates kept on encouraging me and told me to be patient when the goals were not coming my way. I am happy too that the team still kept on winning.
“In the Mbada Cup I was joint top scorer but I want to be bold enough and declare that this season I want the Golden Boot award alone and after Gunners I hope the goals will continue coming now, Mutuma said.
Veteran CAPS United forward Shingi Kawondera is also eyeing the Mbada Cup, which would mark the first time that the dreadlocked striker would be playing a local knockout tournament having spent the better part of his career playing in Europe.
Kawondera is also still to break his goal duck for CAPS United but after Makepekepe fought out a goalless draw against Buffaloes in a league match at Sakubva to stem a seven match losing streak, the former Warriors striker believes he could soon find his range.It was about time we rested from the league games, I don’t know what package Mbada Diamonds have put in store for this year but all that I know is that whether you are a Dynamos, CAPS United or Shabanie player we are all excited about it.
“For us as CAPS United in particular this is one tournament we are really looking forward to.
“Last year I heard that CAPS were knocked out in the first round and we have to avoid that this time around.
“The good thing with cup games like the Mbada tournament is that you play three or four games and you achieve what you want so we just have to be more careful, more focused and give it our best.
“After getting a point in Mutare, I think our confidence is getting back and we are ready to start winning again. It must be remembered that CAPS United are the Cup Kings and the Mbada Cup has come at the right time for us to prove that.
“I think if we can do well in the Mbada it can also help us to make up for some of the disappointments we have suffered in the league but anyone who saw our game against Buffaloes could see that we did everything we could to win and maybe what we just need now is luck.
“Personally I hope to start scoring goals now in both the league and the cup,’’ Kawondera said.
Just like CAPS United, Bulawayo giants Highlanders suffered the ignominy of being booted out of the first round when Zimbabwe Saints sent them packing following a penalty shootout.
That defeat was heartbreaking for Bosso forward Graham Ncube but the former Mwana Africa man believes Highlanders are playing with so much conviction now, it would have to take some beating for them to fail to reach the Mbada Cup final.
Highlanders are unbeaten in 20 Premiership games and only in second place to leaders DeMbare because of an inferior goal difference but Ncube revealed that the Bosso camp is actually targeting a league and cup double.
“Obviously the aim for us at Highlanders this season is to sweep all the titles but Mbada is a great cup, it is self-motivational for the players because we get appearance fees and other incentives from the sponsors of the competition.
“We have been playing very well as a team this season and we want to make up for the defeat to Saints in Hwange last year.
“I also hope to score my first Mbada Cup goal this year, in fact I want to do better than my tally of  eight goals last season and so far I have scored five,’’ Ncube said.
Jani, a veteran of many cup battles for the Mighty Bulls said for Motor Action, the Mbada Cup offered them with an avenue to return to continental football.
“It has been a difficult season for us in the league and we might not make it into the top four but we know that if we win the Mbada Cup we are back in the Confederation Cup.
“But I think this year its going to be a tough competition, most teams have learnt from the mistakes they made last year and I foresee a number of surprises because playing in the Mbada Cup has some reward for players some of who are not paid well by their clubs.
“At Motor Action we thoroughly enjoyed reaching the final and want to achieve that again and even go one step further and win the cup,’’ Jani said.
The Mighty Bulls, who represented Zimbabwe in the Confederation Cup on a Mbada ticket, also  received a US$150 00 subsidy for the African Safari but Motor Action could not go beyond the first round after a surprise home defeat by South African outfit Black Leopards.