LOG LEADERS Dynamos say their Castle Premiership football inactivity last weekend will not affect the team’s momentum, but reckon it could actually be a blessing in disguise as they prepare to face FC Platinum in their next match at Mandava.
HENRY MHARA
League action has been on pause for two weeks now to pave way for cup competitions and will only resume this weekend, but Dynamos were in action against Highlanders in the TM Pick n Pay Challenge Cup last Saturday and have collected 10 points from a possible 12 in their last four league matches.
Dynamos were not taking part in the Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals either after being knocked out by Black Rhinos in the first round.
The Premier Soccer League yesterday said there would be no midweek fixtures this week and would release the weekend fixture programme today.
Dynamos manager Richard Chihoro says there could be some benefits from the break.
“We were doing very well and we would have wanted to go on and on and then there was this break. It kills the momentum obviously, but it also gives time for the boys to recharge their batteries,” Chihoro said.
“It gives players time to recover from their knocks. It actually makes players to be more hungry, to want to look forward to the next match. The only way we will find out if the break was bad or good is when we play our next match,” added Chihoro, revealing that all his players but Masimba Mambare were fully fit and available for selection for the team’s next assignment.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
He said Mambare, who has started light training, could join the rest of the squad in training next week as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury he suffered in March.
Dynamos have 42 points, three more than second-placed Highlanders with just eight matches still to play before the season ends. FC Platinum, the Zvishavane-based side — now under Norman Mapeza — have been in action in the last two weeks, playing in the ZNA Charities Shield final and the Chibuku Super Cup quarter-finals, and winning both encounters.
Highlanders are also on the road next weekend as they travel to face Harare City who have not lost a match since Masimba Dinyero took over.
Third-placed ZPC Kariba have had a topsy-turvy run in the last few weeks and no doubt one of the teams which welcomed the break to regain their form again.
They are at home to Black Rhinos this week in a match that they just cannot afford to lose.
While the other title contenders would want the league action to resume as soon as possible, the same cannot be said for fourth-placed Caps United.
There are currently in their worst shape in recent times. A goalless draw against struggling Bantu Rovers in the league was followed by back-to-back defeats to FC Platinum in two consecutive Cup ties.
They host Luke Masomere’s How Mine this weekend looking to appease their supporters who are beginning to get frustrated.
At the other end of the log table, Chiredzi have almost given up and look set to return to Division One, and so are second from the bottom Bantu Rovers, but the other two unwanted slots are still up for grabs.
And so congested are the teams at the bottom of the log that even FC Platinum, in sixth position with 31 points, are not yet safe from relegation.
