Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa has assured the team’s supporters that the bad patch that has seen his side dropping points in recent times might be over.
The Harare giants’ last match was against Shooting Stars when they laboured to a 1-0 win, a result that was greeted with resentment by die-hard supporters who felt the team could have done better.
Prior to that narrow win, Mutasa’s men had collected a measly two points from three matches.
Pressure is slowly mounting on the soft-spoken gaffer and he will be under the spotlight once again, when his team clash with struggling Black Mambas in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match set for Rufaro stadium on Thursday.
Mutasa said the win over Shooting Stars could be the end of a poor run in form that had hit his team in recent weeks and the return from injury of his star midfielder Denver Mukamba and defender Thomas Magorimbo could be a welcome blessing.
“We were experiencing a very bad phase but this is football, it’s normal. We have to start afresh and the win over Shooting Stars could be the turning point of our season,” said Mutasa on Thursday.
The former Highway and Kiglon coach has in recent times developed a love-hate relationship with the teams’ die-hard fans who want him to reproduce their imperious pre-season form.
The hard-to-please fans have made it clear that they are not very concerned about the result, but they want the team to produce the beautiful type of soccer which saw the Harare giants mesmerising opponents and winning three trophies.
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The team’s impotent strikeforce, which has managed to score only nine goals in 11 matches, five of those coming in one match, has proved to be the team’s weakest department.
Mutasa’s case has been made worse by injuries to key men in his team while other regular players have been outside the country for trials.
“I understand the supporters’ concerns, but what was vital in our last game was maximum points, more than anything else. It was a good start considering that we had not scored a goal prior to that match and we needed to get our confidence back,” Mutasa said.
While Magorimbo and Mukamba will be up for selection today, defender Guthrie Zhokinyi and Milton Makopa remain on the sidelines due to injury.
Their opponents Black Mambas, who are coming into the match on the back of a 3-0 whacking by Monomotapa last week, have vowed to derail Dynamos’ recovery.
“The Dynamos match is big one for us players, there’s no doubt about that. It’s an opportunity for us to market ourselves so it’s importance to us and cannot be overemphasised. We want to win the game for the team, but most importantly to boost our careers as well so we are prepared to put up a big fight,” said Black Mambas defender Lovemore Maphuya
“There will be a lot of pressure and some of the younger players in our team might be affected, but we have senior players like Protasho Kabwe, Fortune Ncube and Audience (Rundofa) whose experience could come into play,” added the pint-sized former Dynamos defender.
Castle Lager Premier Soccer League fixtures Thursday: Zimbabwe Saints v Shabanie Mine (Luveve)
