Return of Billy The Kid boosts DeMbare

Bruce Chikuni

DYNAMOS coach, Tonderai Ndiraya, feels the return of Bill “Billy The Kid” Antonio and Frank Makarati, will boost their quest for a major trophy.

DeMbare are set to host WhaWha in the first-round of the Chibuku Super Cup at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Antonio returned from a month-long trial stint in Belgium, where he has been reported, by our sister newspaper, The Herald, to have made the cut. Makarati had been nursing a knee injury but is now available for selection.

Ndiraya said skipper Partson Jaure, who has been attending a Level 1 coaching course, is out of Sunday’s game.

“The return of Makarati and Antonio, is a big boost for us considering that we will be missing Jaure, who is attending a Level 1 coaching course. “Makarati started training this week and he seems to be in good shape.

“Shadreck Nyahwa, Junior Makunike and Stephen Chatikobo are back as well,” said Ndiraya.

Dynamos last won the Chibuku Super Cup in 2016, and Ndiraya feels the country’s only knockout competition, as well as the Castle Lager Premiership title, are within their reach.

“We are still in the title race. We still have 10 games to play and these are a lot of games.

“This weekend we are playing a Cup game, and it’s different from league games.

“It all depends on what we want as a team.

“Of course, we want a double, and we will fight until the end,” he said.

He added:

“The position which our opponents, WhaWha, occupy on the log doesn’t reflect what they are made of.

“We watched their last game against Yadah and they lost 3-0, but if we are to look at how they played, they were the better side.

“We are fully focused and we are going to field our strongest team to book our spot in the next round.”

WhaWha booked their place in the first-round of the tournament after edging Cranborne Bullets on penalties.

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service side are no stranger to causing upsets.

Most of their wins in the league have come against the big teams. They surprised Chicken Inn, Highlanders and Ngezi Platinum Stars.