Online Reporter
Ray Bande in Mutare
Manica Diamonds . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2
Dynamos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 2
MUTARE referee Quedisani Dirwai had an afternoon to forget, and in the end Manica Diamonds felt hard done in the 2-2 draw against Dynamos at Sakubva yesterday.
With a capacity crowd in attendance, the stage was set for an exhilarating encounter, and apart from Dirwai’s decisions, players on the field of play did not disappoint.
Dynamos were the first to dominate the match with some neat exchanges in the middle of the park, but nothing materialised as their strike-force took turns to miss the target.
In fact, their striker Leeroy Mavhunga was the villain of the day when he squandered what appeared to be a clear-cut scoring chance seven minutes into the encounter when he put his effort wide of target with goalkeeper Godfrey Chitsumba to beat.
The home team surged ahead in the 26th minute when Russel Kahiki fired home from close range amid a goalmouth melee.
Manica Diamonds fans’ patience came under severe test when the referee awarded a goal for the host side off a 32nd-minute beautiful Charles Teguru free kick that beat Dynamos goalkeeper Finnia Fnor, only to inexplicably rescind the decision while the Manica Diamonds players were still celebrating and award the visiting outfit a foul.
The second half started cautiously before Dynamos drew level in the 53rd minute. Perfect Chikwende delivered an inviting cross which Frank Agyemang calmly tapped home to make it 1-1.
Dynamos’ second-half substitute Moses Demera propelled his team into the lead in the 60th minute when he ghosted from the blind side to tap home while taking advantage of a defensive mix-up between Manica Diamonds goalkeeper Chitsumba and defender Farai Banda.
Four minutes into added time Manica Diamonds restored parity when exciting winger and Man of the Match Charles Teguru lurched onto a loose ball and fired home a hard and low shot that beat the Dynamos goalkeeper.
Dynamos coach Genesis Mangombe was the first to complain about the match officials’ conduct.
“I think this was an easy match that we could have easily won with a wide margin, but my strikers wasted a lot of scoring chances. Well, they (Manica Diamonds) managed to equalise late into the match, and I am still wondering why the match officials have eight minutes of added time. That was just too much,” said Mangombe.
His opposite number Patrick Mandizha bemoaned the missed scoring chances.
“I think we played well, as with a little bit of luck we could have won it, but that is the nature of the game. We just hope we will continue getting as many points as we can so that we move out of the relegation zone. The good thing is that we managed to avoid defeat,” he said.
