Online Reporter
Eddie Chikamhi-Zimpapers Sports Hub
DYNAMOS’ midfield hardman Shadreck Nyahwa is battling for full fitness ahead of the Harare giants’ must-win relegation dogfight against Bikita Minerals at Rufaro on Sunday.
The gritty midfielder came off the worst in DeMbare’s 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over bitter rivals Highlanders in the semi-final of the Chibuku Super Cup last weekend.
DeMbare coach Kelvin Kaindu was yesterday keeping his fingers crossed, as he needs all his players available for the last three games of the season that could have a huge impact on their survival aspirations.
“We have everyone on board. I think the only player that got an injury during the game is Nyahwa, who had a swollen leg after the Highlanders game.
“But he’s been training. He’s a strong guy. He’s got the character, he’s got the mental ability also,’’ Kaindu said.
“He’s been training but is not 100 percent fit. From what we saw after the game, the first day that we trained, we thought that he was not even going to be able to train.
“But he’s a strong guy and he’s able to train. And we just hope that he may be probably 80-90 percent fit for the game,” said Kaindu.
Dynamos and fellow Harare giants CAPS United are leaving no margin for error ahead of the resumption of the Castle Lager Premiership relegation battles, with tricky outings that could define the course of the season.
The city rivals will be going in different directions as Makepekepe travel to Bulawayo to meet Chicken Inn at Luveve tomorrow while DeMbare welcome Bikita Minerals at Rufaro the following day.
Interestingly, both giants and their opponents are among the nine teams that are involved in fierce battles for survival going into the final three rounds of play.
This makes every game a big assignment, according to Kaindu and CAPS United’s Ian Bakala.
Although unbeaten in their previous eight games since Kaindu’s arrival, Dynamos remain in a precarious position at the bottom end of the table.
“I think we come here for another league game that is very, very important for us,” said Kaindu.
“Bikita are very good, strong and a bit unpredictable on how they are going to perform. They come, I think, with a very convincing victory from the last game that they played.
“They are not far away from us (on the log standings). I believe every team would want to capitalise and probably go for maximum points.”
Dynamos have collected 18 points from the last eight games but they remain trapped in the relegation zone as they are still recovering from a poor first half of the season during which they fired two coaches — Lloyd Chigowe and Saul Chaminuka.
They have not made any significant movements on the log standings despite an eight-match unbeaten streak that includes five wins and three draws.
DeMbare, who have never been relegated from the top-flight league, sit on 16th place with 34 points while Bikita Minerals moved into 12th place, thanks to their 3-0 win over Herentals in their last league match.
That was before the league programme took a brief break to pave the way for the staging of the Chibuku Super Cup semi-finals.
In these circumstances, Kaindu knows a defeat could be devastating for DeMbare, who played identical 1-1 draws against CAPS United and Highlanders in their last league games.
“Of course, our objective is for us to get a positive result. But we don’t want to get carried away before we play. 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 remain consistent in terms of us getting goals,” said Kaindu.
This has been a queer season not only for Dynamos. Fellow giants CAPS United and Highlanders also find themselves in the relegation puzzle at this stage of the campaign.
CAPS United are, however, closer to safety on 38 points. Their coach Ian Bakala is aware they still have a job to do, hence Makepekepe left for Bulawayo yesterday to give their players enough time to adjust and rest from the road trip ahead of the clash with Chicken Inn.
“Looking at the game we are playing, I think the preparations are going very well,” said Bakala. Chicken Inn, on 36 points, are also fighting for their lives.
