With the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title seemingly out of their reach, Dynamos will look to restore pride with a good run in the Chibuku Super Cup, when they date How Mine in the first round of the competition at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday.
BY HENRY MHARA
They could be still feeling the pain of losing to Highanders in a league match last Sunday, a result that might have extinguished any hopes of reclaiming the league title, but a win on Sunday would go a long way in erasing the bad memories of a match they surrendered 2-1.
And if they are going to miss out on the league, at least some silverware in the trophy cabinet could go a long way in helping the technical team led by Lloyd Mutasa keep their jobs.
Although he was given a mandate to see off a season after taking over from the bungling Paulo Jorge Silva eight matches into the season, it is hard to imagine Mutasa remaining at the helm for another day if Dynamos fail to get through to the second round of this competition.
Trailing the log leaders FC Platinum by 12 points in the league race with just seven matches to play, the former league champions will now need a miraculous comeback to snatch the title.
As the club’s assistant coach Murape Murape admitted after the team’s training session in Harare yesterday, it would be a massive achievement if they were to finish better than their current fifth position on the log.
It is for that reason that the former revered midfielder said they were taking the Chibuku Super Cup seriously and would be aiming to go as far as possible in the competition to try and atone for what would be a tragic season for the club.
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“Playing in the Chibuku Cup gives us a chance to atone for what we have failed to achieve in the league and we really want to win it.
“We are telling the players to forget what happened at Barbourfields last week and concentrate on what awaits us. We can’t spend time dwelling on past games, the most important game is the next one against How Mine,” Murape said.
Against Highlanders on Sunday, Masimba Mambare had given the away side a first-half lead before the hosts rallied back in the second half, scoring twice inside four minutes to turn the match on its head.
“The defeat (against Highlanders) hurt us a lot, it was like a stab in the heart. It was compounded by the manner we lost that game. We are working on as we try to improve and going forward,” he added.
“Our focus is to win this competition. We are preparing for the game against How Mine and that’s our immediate target. In every competition we play we always thrive to be number one. That is our culture at Dynamos, and second best is never acceptable. Besides the injuries that we have, our preparations are going on well. This competition is one silverware that we have hope for to win.”
Murape revealed Marshall Machazane, Mambare and Elisha Muroiwa were struggling with injuries while Sydney Linyama remained AWOL.
