VETERAN Dynamos midfielder Murape Murape has warned his teammates against underestimating Shabanie Mine, saying the asbestos miners pose a real threat as they seek to reach the final of the BancABC Sup8r Cup.
REPORT BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The ageless Murape said the so-called small teams tend to play better when pitted against big teams like Dynamos. He said because of this, Dynamos would be under pressure to deliver.
Although Murape said they would be under pressure, he insisted their target was to reach the final of one of the richest knockout tournaments in the country. “It’s a tricky encounter,” said Murape. “It will not be easy because we have been on a long break and the rhythm has been affected. It affects both teams, but pressure will be more on us than them because these small teams usually play better when playing against big teams like Dynamos.
“Knowing they are playing against Dynamos, Shabanie will play the game of their lives. But this is where we derive our motivation from. We are pushing hard at training with the target of reaching the final of this tournament.
“The other thing is that the match will be played on a neutral venue and Barbourfields Stadium has always been our favourite hunting ground. We have won most of our encounters at Barbourfields in the last few years,” Murape said.
Although Dynamos dominated most of the encounters against Highlanders at Barbourfields since 2007, they were shocked 1-0 last term by Chicken Inn in a match played at that stadium and are yet to beat the Bulawayo giants under Kelvin Kaindu at the same venue.
But still, Murape was confident his team would progress.
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“We encourage our supporters to come and rally behind the team. We have got some youngsters in the team who need support all the way. Supporters play a key role in games like this.
“Everyone knows the significance of this encounter and all we need is to have confidence. We need to believe so that we can freely express ourselves. It’s a privilege for all of us to be given the opportunity to wear the Dynamos shirt. We, therefore, need to represent Dynamos with both pride and distinction,” Murape added.
Shabanie Mine coach Luke Masomere, however, said Dynamos were favourites to progress to the final.
“Dynamos are a big institution and they are better in all aspects of the game than us. From playing personnel, resources and achievements they are superior. But we have also prepared well for them. And what I think is that being a cup game- the better team of the day will sail through,” said Vahombe, as he is affectionately known in football circles.
