DYNAMOS Football Club manager Richard Chihoro says the absence of key figures in the squad will have minimal effect when the team clashes with Caps United in this season’s first big Harare Derby in the ZNA Charity Shield semi-final at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
HENRY MHARA
The match had initially been fixtured at Rufaro Stadium before it was moved to the new venue early this week.
Highlanders and FC Platinum will feature in another semi-final at Barbourfields on the same day, with the winners set to clash in the final on a date to be advised.
Dynamos will go into the match without a number of key figures including coach Kalisto Pasuwa, who will be travelling with the national senior men team to Tanzania later this week for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. Pasuwa is the Warriors assistant coach.
Also set to travel with the Warriors if selected into the final squad are Patson Jaure, who has been handed the captain’s armband, Stephen Alimenda, Sydney Linyama and George Chigova.
The club had hoped that the injured Masimba Mambare and Tawanda Muparati would recover in time for the match and bolster the squad, but Chihoro, while revealing that the duo were making a steady recuperation, said the Sunday match had come a bit too early.
Striker Clive Kawinga has also been ruled out of the match due to injury “Mambare and Tawanda are recovering, but they will not be fit for the match. Clive has been given some days off so that he can continue to recover. We would have wanted to have all our players in the team, but we have 33 players registered and we should be able to pick very competent replacements for those who are unavailable. We are not much worried at all,” said Chihoro.
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In Pasuwa’s absence, assistant coach Philimon Mutyakureva will take charge.
Often ridiculed by the Dynamos fans as merely Pasuwa’s stooge, this is an opportunity for Mutyakureva to prove himself.
Caps United have two players with the national team in Ronald Pfumbidzai and Hardlife Zvirekwi.
Defender Stephen Makatuka had also been called up for camp, but lack of a passport has cost him the lifetime opportunity.
Manager Luis Maio has also said his team will not be affected that much in the event that their two players make it into the final squad, set to be announced tomorrow morning.
The other team that has been adversely affected by the Warriors trip to Tanzania ahead of the Sunday’s semi-final matches is Highlanders.
If selected into the final travelling squad, Bosso will miss the services of Munyaradzi Diya, Peter “Rio” Moyo, Milton Ncube and Kudakwashe Mahachi. For FC Platinum, they have exciting midfielder Marshal Mudewe in the Warriors camp.
The participating teams go into the Sunday battle on the back of contrasting fortunes. Caps United have their confidence high after their 2-0 win over Black Rhinos in a league match last Saturday although they are well aware that facing Dynamos offers a very different challenge.
Dynamos and Highlanders were held to draws in their last league matches while FC Platinum were beaten away at Buffaloes.
