Dynamos will bank on the fear factor that in-form attacker Takesure Chinyama instills in opponents when the Harare football giants commence the punch-up for a ticket to the lucrative Caf Champions League mini-league phase against Espérance in the first leg of the second round in Tunis tomorrow.
The game starts at 4pm local time (5pm Zimbabwe time).
Chinyama has sent tongues wagging both at home and abroad and coach Calisto Pasuwa believes Espérance must have had a look at him. He believes the Tunisians are working round the clock on ways to reduce the threat.
“He is the top goalscorer in the competition and naturally when there is a player like that in your opponents, you always try to come up with ways to combat him,” said Pasuwa.
“Like we have been studying video footage of some of their players, they must have been doing the same and they must have noted how good he is. He is our lethal weapon and we expect him to score the goals.
“But fear is one aspect that can work in our favour, that they fear him may open up opportunities for the others. I hope the other guys come to the party and learn from him. The problem has been that recently players like Rodreck (Mutuma) and Denver (Mukamba) have sort of been trying to play for glory, but in the last game they were more disciplined and we expect that in this game.”
Chinyama has scored all of Dynamos goals so far in the continental competition with three against Mozambique’s Liga Muçulmana and has since bagged four in the league.
“The good thing with Takesure is that he makes use of half chances unlike most local strikers. If one chance falls to him, chances are he hits the back of the net so we will be patient and try to close gates at the back and try to utilise Takesure’s skill with counter attacks.”
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Pasuwa is confident that with the form that the striker has been in, he can influence things even without touching the ball after attaining a reputation of scoring quality goals in almost every match that he has played this season.
Chinyama’s presence in the team will mean the Esperance defence cannot afford to squeeze up.
Dynamos play the African champions, but they look like they have the necessary equipment to get a result that they can make good use of in the second leg at home in two weeks’ time.
Having arrived here late on Wednesday, Dynamos only trained yesterday at 4pm, the same time that the match will be played. Pasuwa is particularly pleased with the arrangement where they had more time to get accustomed to the conditions ahead of the match.
“We will be here for some three days before the match which is good and it’s something that will help in our preparations. The players are well motivated and we have been educating them on the size of task they have. We are hoping for a good performance,” he said.
