CAN Highlanders finally end Dynamos’ eight-year Premier Soccer League jinx?
HENRY MHARA SPORTS REPORTER
This is the biggest question on almost everyone’s lips when the two old enemies meet again at Barbourfields Stadium this afternoon, a clash which headlines what promises to be an interesting round of fixtures whose outcome might provide an answer as to who will win the title at the end of the season.
Highlanders and Dynamos, together with ZPC Kariba, are tied at the top of the log table after 18 rounds points.
They all have 32 points, although Highlanders are positioned first due to a superior goal difference.
There is likely to be major movements at the top after this weekend’s round of fixtures.
ZPC Kariba, still unbeaten this far, host stuttering Shabanie Mine at Gwanzura Stadium and if the home side can collect maximum points there, they have a good chance of topping the log table for the next few days.
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Further down the ladder, Hwange at number four are at relegation-threatened Chicken Inn while a charged Caps United side will look to overcome their Colliery horror on Thursday when they welcome basement side Chiredzi United at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.
The Green Machine will be heavily handicapped going ino this match as they will be without the influential trio of captain Tapiwa Kumbuyani, Tendai Samanja and Honey Chimutimunzeve through suspension.
Second from the bottom Bantu Rovers are in Mutare to face off against Buffaloes while the other two teams that complete the list of the teams in the relegation zone, Harare City and Chicken Inn, play Chapungu and Hwange respectively.
But there is no doubt the big match of the weekend is at Barbourfields.
No match is bigger than this in the local league. Form and any other temporary thing like that goes out of the window and most often it comes down to who wants it more on that day.
The winner of this encounter will top the log while a draw can only benefit ZPC Kariba, Hwange and Caps United. In the recent past, it has been Dynamos all the way, undefeated in this contest since 2006.
Some have said this clash has become too predictable and risk losing interest. Well, perhaps not the Dynamos fans. In recent years, this is the match that they look forward to every time the fixtures are released.
So one-sided has been this contest at Barbourfields that they know their team is almost assured of three points.
Their side have had an inconsistent season thus far. There have been games where Dynamos have been at their frightening vintage and there have been some where the league champions are barely recognisable.
But either way, they have demonstrated over the last few years that they can beat Highlanders, even when they are at their worst.
Dynamos coach Kalisto Pasuwa always looks to his senior players to deliver in these big matches. Murape Murape, rested in midweek, is almost assured to start in this match, and so is Tawanda Muparati, the chief destroyer of Highlanders in this fixture last year.
As for Highlanders, they will be hoping that this is their time to break the jinx. They have a very good team which has dominated possession and play in recent previous encounters but somehow have no solution to beat Dynamos.
Perhaps, their players lack the mental strength. They retreat into a shell, in their minds, maybe, they lose even before playing. They don’t simply fight back every time they are pegged back and believe the result is a foregone conclusion.
