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NewsDay

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Dynamos go hungry in Maputo

Sport
Dynamos opponents in the Caf Champions League first round Liga Muçulmana this week, vowed to do everything to win their first leg match in Maputo tomorrow. And true to their word, the well-sponsored team might have started employing dirty tricks which have often blighted African football to try and frustrate their visiting opponents. The Harare […]

Dynamos opponents in the Caf Champions League first round Liga Muçulmana this week, vowed to do everything to win their first leg match in Maputo tomorrow.

And true to their word, the well-sponsored team might have started employing dirty tricks which have often blighted African football to try and frustrate their visiting opponents.

The Harare giants left Harare yesterday morning and arrived in Maputo late afternoon after a brief stop-over in South Africa.

On arrival at the airport they were escorted to a three-star hotel — Hotel Africa — which is situated a few kilometres away. The hotel is owned by one of the hosting team officials.

However, the Dynamos delegation was greeted with shocking news after the hosting team said they would only provide them with accommodation. They said Dynamos would have to look for their own food.

By last night, players had not eaten anything as the Zimbabwe embassy officials and BancABC officials, who are the team’s premier sponsor, were still battling to secure food.

Dynamos head coach Calisto Pasuwa said his team would not be frustrated by the “appalling treatment” as they had prepared for such a scenario. He, however, said he had not expected it from their fellow neighbours.

“This is not new in Africa. We have seen this before and we were expecting it. What we have done is to psyche the players up to play for the good of Dynamos. History has shown that Dynamos always do well in such encounters. Players should not look much into this. They should take these Champions League matches as an opportunity to build their names,” said Pasuwa. The former Dynamos midfielder was more worried about the absence of his trusted defender Guthrie Zhokinyi who was handed a four-match ban for the red card he received in last year’s Champions League match away in Algeria.

“We are here to contain them, so we would have wanted a solid defence. He stabilised the department when he came in our match against Motor Action, so we had built our strategy around him. Now we have to make some changes and we just hope the player that will replace him will do the job.”

He added: “The information we have gathered about them — Liga Muçulmana — is that they are quick and want to keep the ball at all times, so we will try to do some tight marking.”