adminRobson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THERE’S certainly been something striking about the four explosive Castle Lager Premiership league matches that have been played between serial champions Dynamos and plucky neighbours Harare City in the past two seasons. Somehow, all the matches have been played at Rufaro on the same day — Wednesday afternoon.
Amid a regular shower of urine, three of the matches, save for the goalless stalemate at Rufaro on May 22 this year, have featured the common denominator of a goal that has come in the 89th minute.
And, even more striking, is the bizarre fact that the Zifa Referees’ Committee have picked the same match official, Ruzive Ruzive, to handle all the four league matches between the two sides since the Sunshine City Boys came into the Premiership.
On Wednesday, for the first time in the four-part series of this capital city derby, more than one goal was scored in this fascinating contest between a Harare City team, which has become quite competitive, and a DeMbare side keen on the immortality provided by becoming only the second Class of Glamour Boys to win a hattrick of league titles.
Shepherd Murape and his super team, who won the first league championship in independent Zimbabwe before going to rule the domestic scene with a touch of ruthlessness that saw them win four straight titles, are the only battalion of Glamour Boys to win a hat-trick of league titles.
Such has been the stunning progress made by Harare City in the past 21 months that they were the leaders of the championship race prior to their fourth league showdown with the champions and a victory would have taken them four points clear of their nearest rivals.
But after a 1-3 mauling at the hands of DeMbare, in a game marred by another incident of a bottle of urine being thrown at Mawiwi, the
Harare City coach somehow decided to aim his missiles at referee Ruzive who sent off his defender Crispen Dickson.
“Coincidentally for the referee today, this was the third match he has been assigned for us against Dynamos, but I’m not taking anything away from him but we need to change the match officials,” said Mawiwi.
“During the first round this year, we scored a clear goal, which was disallowed, and today when Silas (Songani) was tackled (by Mushure), I thought that was a red card.”
While Mawiwi might have a point, his problem is that he appears to put on blinkers, when such an incident happens involving his player in a game handled by the same referee and against the same opponents, as was the case in the reverse fixture this season.
That match ended goalless but that could have changed if Ruzive had not decided to be lenient on Harare City’s diminutive forward, Phineas Bhamusi, when he stamped on DeMbare defender Partson Jaure, an offence punishable by a straight red card.
Maybe, the football gods scripted that this game should always have a lot of these sound-bites from the two clubs’ very first meeting.
Ruzive was the man in charge on June 20, last year, when Harare City, in their debut season in the top-flight league, brewed a shocker when they upstaged their more illustrious opponents with a 1-0 victory at Rufaro.
Substitute Quinton Masika fired home the priceless goal in the 89th minute in a game in which Ruzive sent off DeMbare talisman, Denver Mukamba, with time up on the clock.
Three months later, at the same venue, the two sides clashed again in the reverse fixture and, just like the first game, it was scoreless until the very final minute of regulation time and, just like in the first match, Mukamba would be part of the headlines.
With time ticking away, Mukamba took responsibility and, after charging into the opponents’ area, fired towards goal, his powerful shot crashed against the Harare City defensive wall and rolled into the path of Ocean Mushure, running in down the left channel to provide the reinforcement to the attack.
The roving leftback decided to try his luck and hammered a first-time beauty that flew with pace, like a guided missile, and arrowed into the top corner for one of the goals of the season last year to break Harare City’s defiance.
The goal came shortly after urine had been poured on the Harare City goal by a DeMbare fan.
Ruzive was in charge, again, when the two teams met for the third straight time in the league at Rufaro on Wednesday, May 22, this year and, just like the two league matches before this encounter, goals were a scarce commodity in this one.
Mawiwi feels Mukuradare’s effort, ruled out for offside in that game, should have stood.
On Wednesday, for the first time in the matches between the two sides, there was a glut of goals with DeMbare scoring three times, which could have been more had Washington Pakamisa brought his radar, while Mukuradare struck again and, this time, his goal stood.
But it was virtually a consolation given that the Glamour Boys scored three times through Boban Zirintusa, his first league goal for his club, the in-form Russell Madamombe and, typical of the clashes between the two sides, an 89th minute goal by Clive Kawinga.
Kawinga became the first player, employed in the specialist strikers’ position at DeMbare, to find the target in five league matches for the Glamour Boys, ending a barren run of four games with a goal from the target men, since Patrick Khumbula scored twice in the 3-0 thrashing of How Mine at Rufaro in Round 15.
When DeMbare edged Harare City 1-0, in the 21st match of the league campaign last season, the Glamour Boys opened a two-point cushion over Highlanders and won five of their remaining eight games, lost once away to Chicken Inn and drew twice against Bosso and Hardbody to win the championship on goal difference.
Having beaten Harare City 3-1 on Wednesday, in the 20th match of their league campaign this season, the Glamour Boys kept their one-point cushion over Bosso and will need to win as many games as they won in the final countdown last year if they are to join the club of immortals by grabbing three straight league titles.
Online Reporter