dyton mupawaenda
Fungai Muderere
Zimpapers Sports Hub
DYNAMOS coach Lloyd ‘MaBlanyo’ Chigowe says he has some great fighters in his camp and they made the difference in powering the Glamour Boys to their second successive Chibuku Super Cup glory.
DeMbare beat Ngezi Platinum Stars after a penalty shootout lottery at Rufaro after once again scoring late to force the draw in regulation time.
Their never-say-die spirit was also on display in the semi-final where they scored in added time to force penalties against Manica Diamonds.
The Glamour Boys had the advantage of playing all their matches, in the Chibuku Super Cup, from the first round to the final, at their home at Rufaro.
They also needed penalties edge Yadah in the quarter-finals.
The only game which DeMbare won in regulation time in this year’s Chibuku Super Cup was a 3-1 first round victory over ZPC Kariba.
MaBlanyo, celebrating his first major piece of silverware which takes his team back into the CAF inter-club tournaments again, said their fighting spirit made the difference.
“The team has great character, great fighters. There are also a lot of football brains among the boys. We fought from a goal down.
“The good thing is that we fought back and managed to get an equaliser.
“We saw some great saves from Nelson Chadya (Ngezi goalkeeper), we could have gotten the equaliser much earlier.
“When we saw that we were no longer in the PSL title race, we focused on the Chibuku Super Cup.”
DeMbare took home the US$75 000 cash price for winning the tournament.
One hopes this money will help stabilise the Glamour Boys whose financial challenges have resulted in players boycotting training on a regular basis.
It is also likely to be a difficult off-season for DeMbare who are likely to struggle to retain many of their regular players who are frustrated by what they consider to be ill-treatment by the club.
That MaBlanyo found a way to guide the Glamour Boys to success amid all the turmoil in their camp has impressed many analysts.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter