Dynamos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)1 Chicken Inn . . . . . . . . . 0
There is a belief that Dynamos perform better whenever there are boardroom squabbles at the club and after Wednesday’s battling performance against Chicken Inn at Rufaro Stadium in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match, the belief was vindicated.
The Harare giants produced one of their best performances in recent weeks, and despite slowing down in the last few minutes of the game, Murape Murape’s goal in the 28th minute was all they needed to collect maximum points.
Dynamos came into the match against the backdrop of a leadership crisis with the reported ouster of the Farai Munetsi-led executive but that could not stop them from winning the match.
Munetsi and his executive watched the match from the VVIP enclosure, a sure sign that they are still in charge at the club while former Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa, now coaching Absa Premiership side Black Leopards, was also in the stands.
The win parachuted Dynamos into third position on the log with 25 points, leapfrogging Hwange, Highlanders and Chicken Inn in the process.
Chicken Inn who started the match sitting pretty in third position with 23 points moved one rung down the ladder.
Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa, who has given a media blackout in recent weeks, once again refused to talk to the media after the match, instead pushing his assistant Tichaona Diya to the forefront.
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“We are happy that we managed to meet our target. When we started the season we said to ourselves we need to be in the top four by mid-season and we have achieved it,” said Diya.
“We created a lot of chances especially in the first half where we could have scored at least three more goals, but what is more important is that we won all the three points,” Chicken Inn coach Philani Ncube said his team deserved at least a point from the match and blamed referee Batsirai Muchenje for his team’s loss.
“I’m happy with the team’s performance, we didn’t lose to a good side, but we lost to a big team. It was a 50/50 match, they had their chances in the first half and we had ours in the second half. The referee had no guts to point to the spot when George Magariro handled in the box, but that happens when you are playing a big team like Dynamos,” Ncube said.
Dynamos started the match on the offensive with a rejuvenated Murape and Denver Mukamba looking dangerous every time they had possession.
Murape’s thunderous shot from outside the box stung the hands of Njabulo Nyoni in goal for Chicken Inn in the 26th minute, but the dreadlocked goalkeeper could do nothing two minutes later when the pint-sized striker ghosted from the left to curl the ball into the far post.
Chicken Inn never looked like a team that wanted to get something out of the match as they sat deep in their half and only came to life after the introduction of the marauding Thomas Chimenya in the 56th minute for the ineffective Daniel Zokoto.
The lanky striker caused anxious moments for the jittery Magariro and could have equalised 11 minutes after his introduction, but his spectacular right-foot shot flew over the bar.
