DYNAMOS players have more on their minds when they host Botswana’s Mochudi Centre Chiefs in the Caf Champions League preliminary round first leg football match at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.
HENRY MHARA/SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA
After two seasons in which the Harare giants’ Champions League form has been a source of embarrassment, the players have been battling to reconcile their relationship with a rowdy section of fans who feel the players have alienated themselves.
The love-hate relationship with fans saw coach Kalisto Pasuwa and ageless Murape Murape recently pleading for the fans to rally behind the team after it emerged that there is a clique of fans who are planning to boo vice-captain Tawanda Muparati in tomorrow’s match for remarks he allegedly made late last year.
Muparati, now sporting a bald head, was quoted in the media thanking the Bulawayo supporters for their “unwavering support” last season. During a luncheon hosted by the club to welcome new signings in the capital on Thursday, Pasuwa pleaded with the supporters to unite and back the team.
“I have heard that there are some supporters who are planning that, I am quite shocked by that,” said Pasuwa. “This issue is troubling me to be honest, and it is not something we want going into such a match. From my understanding, Tawanda just mentioned the Bulawayo fans, but he was actually thanking all the supporters for the support they gave to the team throughout the season,” said Pasuwa. Murape also took to the stage and said they were targeting the Champions League mini-league stage this year.
But he said they could only achieve that if the supporters pull in one direction.
Murape, who himself was a target of the boo-boys during the Dynamos-How Mine friendly match last weekend, lambasted the section of the supporters as “fake”, bent on destabilising the club.
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Mochudi Centre Chiefs — who are home to Warriors midfield hardman Elvis Meleka — were expected in the country this afternoon. They have made it clear that their game plan is to try and get an away goal.
In Bulawayo, Zanzibar’s Chuoni say they will be targeting victory away from home when they take on How Mine in a Caf Confederation Cup first leg preliminary round tie at Barbourfields Stadium this afternoon.
The delegation of the Zanzibaris arrived in the City of Kings on Thursday evening for the match and held their first training session at a water-logged White City Stadium yesterday morning. Chuoni head coach Ali Abdalla Hassan told NewsDay Sport soon after the training session that lasted one hour and 30 minutes that they were aiming at nothing short of victory.
“Our target is to win the game and we have prepared well for the match. It is our first time to play in the Confederation Cup. We know nothing about our opponents. It was very difficult to train at the ground because it is water-logged and it was slippery,” Hassan said.
Chuoni had to use half of the pitch because of that. However, they looked very sharp, stringed beautiful passes and looked very comfortable on the ball. They also have an advantage that their league is ongoing while their opponents How Mine have only played friendly matches as the 2014 Premier Soccer League season is yet to start.
“We arrived in Zimbabwe late because we had league matches going on. We also have three players who play in the national team in our squad,” Hassan said.
The three are Hussain Rashid, Saleh Mohammed and Yussuf Mohammed. Chuoni held their second training session at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday afternoon.
