adminThat’s what inflicted considerable pain on thousands of the Glamour Boys’ fans at Rufaro yesterday – the agony that comes from being knocked out by an opponent of such average talents, the torture that comes with bowing out at the hands of such ordinary opposition and the strain of falling to such obscure opponents.
Promise Chabata, a banker who works in Johannesburg, South Africa, made the road trip to Harare, as he always does on Champions League days for his beloved DeMbare, having believed in the miracle that his Glamour Boys would wipe out the 0-3 deficit from the first leg.
Before he embarked on the long trip back to Johannesburg last night, promising that he would make it into the office before midday today, he told The Herald the greatest regret from this elimination was that it came at the hands of opponents who didn’t deserve the blowout 3-1 aggregate win that swept them into the second round.
“I guess I became worried about what I saw in Lesotho, my team didn’t have a shape in Maseru and you couldn’t tell really what they wanted to do and even though we led 3-0 from the first leg, which should have made things comfortable, we were not so sure until the very final whistle,” said Chabata.
“Somehow, even after we fell 3-0 in Tunisia, a result that didn’t surprise me given what I had seen in Lesotho, something kept telling me that we would do it at home, we would win 3-0 or better, the real Dynamos would rise and shine at home and I would go back to work in a very happy mood.
“But I’m hurt right now, not because my team didn’t play well for long periods in the match, but because we were knocked out by a team that was quite weak, as far as I could tell, and who could have crumbled if we had got an early goal.
“It will make the trip longer, of course, but that’s life, isn’t it, you take the good and the bad as they come.”
Some will way the Tunisians didn’t need to do anything spectacular, since they already held a comfortable lead but Esperance came here with a bigger lead last year, double this one, but left an impression with their quality.
The irony of it all is that there was a section of DeMbare fans who remained in their seats at the end of their 1-1 draw against Esperance in a Champions League tie they lost 1-7 on aggregate, to salute their men as they left the field, having scrambled a draw against the then African champions.
Although that was a heavier defeat, in comparison to this 1-3 loss, and Dynamos actually won yesterday, striking at the very end through Cliff Sekete to find some pride to take home to nurse their wounds, there wasn’t any warmth directed to the Glamour Boys at the end of this contest.
The fans know their football and they know when their team has put in a full shift, even in a loss or a draw, they know when the opposition is superior, as was the case with Esperance last year, and they know when the opposition is inferior, and their boys have just given the tie away on a silver platter, as was the case yesterday.
To their credit the DeMbare fans came in their thousands to provide a sound bite for the occasion, rallying behind their men to perform the miracle that was needed, and the majority of them stayed right up to the end of the match and were still rallying behind their team even in the twilight zone of the six minutes of added time.
But fans can’t win matches on their own.
They need the men on the field to also respond to the challenge and yesterday, when DeMbare needed to show their true colours, they retreated into a shell, against an opponent who wasn’t ready to fight, and could only master one goal on an occasion that needed three.
Why did Dynamos fail to seize the moment?
The main reason will lie in their makeshift and lightweight strikeforce of Boban Zirintusa and young Farai Mupasiri, who crumbled in the heat of the pressure cooker of the occasion, and struggled to impose himself as the crowd demanded more and he could only deliver so much, far, far less than what the fans wanted.
On an afternoon when DeMbare needed an early goal, there was a lot of responsibility on the strikers but Mupasiri, who has barely played at home this year, could not handle it and, as the tone of the jeers increased in the stands, the young forward with a flashy hairstyle to match, could not stand the pressure.
He could have been helped, to a large extent, by a supporting hand from Zirintusa but the Ugandan international also appeared to have lost his radar, in that first half, and their ineffectiveness, as a striking duo, on a day so much was expected from them, was highlighted by one heartbreaking moment.
Ocean Mushure’s cross, from wide on the left, carried the right weight and, for once, curled beyond the giant defensive shield of the Tunisians, and inviting the two on-side Dynamos forwards to come just for a touch that was needed to divert the ball home.
But that touch didn’t come as the two forwards, standing side by side as if they were opponents marking each other, instead of one taking a more central role and the other taking a spot on the blind side, remained rooted to their positions, time appeared to stand still, and the grand opportunity was lost.
It’s on such small details that such big games are won or lost.
After the break, Zirintusa improved, both in technique and movement, which appeared to support the arguement that he was paying a huge price for not playing for his team in the league matches when he was away in Uganda, and he had a decent chance, which flew over and wide.
But to pick out the two forwards as the fall guys would be unfair because there was very little, in terms of creativity, from a midfield that had all the space they could ask for but could not pick the right killer ball, always killing their moves by pushing the ball wide on the flanks when they should have tried to sneak in through the middle.
Captain Murape Murape showed a lot of passion and industry, but very little in terms of the cutting edge needed for a wide man to have a major effect on such a big game, Sekete’s touch promised so much but, once again, the diminutive forward didn’t impose himself for sustained periods, choosing to explode one minute and hide 15 minutes.
Denver Mukamba used to dictate the pace of the game, the conductor who shaped the tune of the orchestra and while Sekete appears to have the potential to play such a role, he lets the game dictate the pace for him rather than the other way round.
Tawanda Muparati tried as hard as he could but he is still a shade slower, his touch is still a little heavier and his impact on the game is a little less than what he was doing when he was at the peak of his game towards the end of last year.
His confidence is also down and he had a good chance for the breakthrough, deep in the first half, and a confident Muparati would have waited for the ball to roll to his favourite left foot, and even controlled it, but he panicked and hit it with his weaker right and the chance was lost.
He was unlucky, though, when his dipping screamer, from a distance, was touched for a corner by the ‘keeper.
As the minutes ticked away, the fans in the Vietnam Stand started losing their patience and their frustrations were not helped, in any way, by the near side assistant referee making some close and controversial calls that resulted in a shower of missiles raining on the pitch.
But as the curtain came down on yet another poor Champions League campaign by DeMbare, one thing stood out that showed that, even among these ruins, there were still some unpolished diamonds who could provide the hope going into the future.
Young Tichaona Mabvura will get my man-of-the-match award, even for playing just 34 minutes in the second half.
Suddenly he gave Dynamos the leading man their game had been crying for and his talent kept eliminating the defenders in numbers and, suddenly, the game was alive, and the Tunisians were there for the picking, but time had flown away so fast.
He also had a good chance to make a difference, when he found himself alone on the right, but wasted his opportunity.
That appeared to sum up DeMbare’s frustrating afternoon.
Online Reporter