WITH the Premier Soccer League championship seemingly out of reach for Dynamos, the Chibuku Super Cup final against Harare City assumes enormous significance for interim coach, Tonderai Ndiraya, who wants the job on a full-time basis.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
Ndiraya was appointed short-term coach in mid-season after the team hit a bad patch under the stewardship of David Mandigora.
His brief was to lead the Glamour Boys to a fifth successive championship after Kalisto Pasuwa lifted four champions on the trot.
With log leaders Chicken Inn and FC Platinum sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Luveve Stadium on Wednesday, it widened the gap between them and the reigning champions.
Ndiraya’s character has been under scrutiny over the past few months, but despite an impressive run at some point in the league, it looks like they will fall short of the title.
But having taken over midway through the campaign, his usually ruthless employers may offer leniency and not judge him on league success or failure.
Ndiraya, however, cannot escape examination in the cup competition, where he has inspired his team to the final.
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The Dynamos faithfuls are demanding that reaching a cup final alone without the actual silverware counts as a failure.
The standards expected are so high and Ndiraya knows all too well that if he is to be elevated from interim coach to substantive, he will need to present his bosses with something to decorate their trophy cabinet.
While developments at Luveve on Wednesday seemingly confirmed the end of Dynamos’ chances of retaining the league title, with only the Chibuku Super Cup to fight for, the Dynamos leadership and team captain Ocean Mushure remain confident of success on the two fronts.
Both the league title and Chibuku Super Cup come with tickets to participate in the African safari. The league champions will earn a place in the prestigious African Champions League, while lifting the Chibuku Super Cup gives a ticket to the Caf Confederation Cup.
Mushure, speaking to reporters during a news conference in Harare yesterday, said Dynamos had a good record in cup finals and were targeting nothing short of victory.
He disclosed that they had the backing of the club hierarchy, with officials coming to training sessions to boost morale. “We have got a good record in cup games, where we rarely lose. The club leadership is coming to our training sessions to boost our morale, so I think we are going to win this match against Harare City,” he said.
Dynamos treasurer, Webster Marechera is optimistic that they can clinch a league and cup double.
Harare City captain, David Kutyauripo, whose troops reached the final last year only to be beaten to the trophy by FC Platinum in controversial circumstances, hopes to atone for their disappointment with a win tomorrow.
“It’s a great honour for us to reach the final again. Dynamos are a big team with a huge following and Harare City is a brand. We will try to get a goal in the opening minutes to unsettle them. We know if we score the crowd can turn against them. It’s going to be one of the best cup finals in history against Dynamos,” the former Dynamos player said.
Harare City secretary Mathew Marara said the match against Dynamos was more of a psychological clash.
“The match against Dynamos is a psychological match, so we have enlisted the services of a psychologist,” he said.
