adminGunners finished the game with 10 men when skipper Pardon Chinungwa was expelled after he had upended Dynamos striker Derrick Kabwe in the 84th minute.
Kabwe received a fine pass from the midfield and he charged towards goal but was clipped from behind by the steely Chinungwa who then got his marching orders from referee Pascal Chadya.
A few minutes earlier, Chadya had ejected Gunners’ assistant coach Lazarus Parayi because the goalkeeper’s coach had provoked Dynamos fans on the northern terrace.
Dynamos players and fans protested that Chadya should award them a penalty as the offence was committed inside the box while Gunners remained adamant that the offence was just outside the box.
Chadya made the right decision as he awarded Dynamos a free-kick from the promising position while Roderick Mutuma earned himself a yellow card for protesting.
And it was from the resultant free-kick in the arc that Zhokinyi curled the ball past the wall and beyond the reach of Gunners goalkeeper Prosper Chigumba to ignite wild celebrations from the largely Dynamos fans.
By then, the match had been seemingly heading for a draw when Roderick Mutuma had given Dynamos the lead in the 32nd minute after the Harare giants had missed several scoring chances.
Young midfielder Tichaona Mabvura, who was given a rare place in the starting line-up engineered the goal when he ran on the left before an intelligent pass to Mutuma who was lurking in the box on the right.
Mutuma kept his composure as he controlled the ball before rifling a rising shot that nestled in the top corner of the near post.
Gunners, who were lucky not to concede half a dozen goals in the first half, evened the scores in the 52nd minute when Patson Jaure upended William Manondo in the box.
Moses Muchenje stepped up to send the ball to his right while Washington Arubi, who is scheduled to join South African side Black Leopards, dived to the left.
But Dynamos could also count themselves lucky to finish with 11 men after Chinyama, who is expected to leave for medicals with Orlando Pirates today, survived.
Chinyama, who missed several clear cut chances, first received a yellow card for complaining after the referee had blown for a foul on Gunners defender Byron Madzokere in the 19th minute.
The giant forward then deliberately used his hand to control the ball in the 31st minute for what could have been a second bookable offence but Chadya chose to verbally warn the player.
Even the diehard Dembare fans were surprised by the benevolence of the match officials while Gunners felt hard done by the decision.
It was a foolish stunt by a seasoned player like Chinyama that could have cost his team just like last week when Denver Mukamba, who is wanted by Black Leopards, saw red in their 1-0 defeat to Harare City.
Pressure was on Dynamos to win yesterday’s game and Zhokinyi made sure they collected maximum points with a blistering free-kick.
“It was a difficult match for us because we were under pressure to get a victory.
“So during all the tension over the free-kick, I remained calm as a seasoned player.
“When the referee gave us the freekick, I took aim and a crack at goal,” said Zhokinyi.
The defender believed that Dynamos deserved to win the game after dominating in the first half.
“I think we deserved to win and I dedicate the goal to our coach.
“This victory gives us a morale boost ahead of the Caf Confederations Cup match at the weekend,” said Zhokinyi.
The Dynamos coach started with a three-pronged attack in which he used Chinyama, Mutuma and Vengesayi.
“The modern trend in football is to play with two strikers and when we used three, we asked Roderick to drop and play as a linkman.
“I am happy that we created chances with Thomas Magorimbo executing fine passes for the forwards but we failed to convert the chances.
“Anyway I am happy with the win as he relieved pressure on us a bit,” said Pasuwa.
While Pasuwa was happy to collect three points, his opposite number Thanks Tengwe blasted his players for a negative attitude towards the match especially in the first half.
“We did not play well in the first half. Our players had a negative attitude towards the game and Dynamos could have scored six goals against us.
“But we played better in the second half but after equalising, the boys started playing for a draw instead of a win.
“Dynamos were the better team and they deserved to win,” said Tengwe.
Teams
Gunners: P. Chigumba, B. Sande, V. Ndaba (W. Manondo 48th min), L. Fiyado, J. Jangano, B. Madzokere, P. Chinungwa, M. Muchenje, H. Zvirekwi, C. Sekete (W. Manondo 47th min) C. Mukuruva (M. Kunyarimwe 85th min)
Dynamos: W. Arubi, D. Kutyauripo, A. Mbara, D. Chafa (T. Muparati 85th min), M. Vengesayi (L. Murape 68th min), T. Magorimbo, T. Chinyama (D. Kabwe 53rd min), P. Jaure, G. Zhokinyi, R. Mutuma, T. Mabvura,
Online Reporter