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Mutasa faces axe

Sport
DYNAMOS coach Lloyd Mutasa (pictured) could soon be a victim of the Harare football giants’ ruthless leadership, with reports suggesting he could be sacrificed this week despite the impressive performance in the 18 matches he has presided over since taking over from sacked Portuguese coach Paulo Jorge Silva

DYNAMOS coach Lloyd Mutasa (pictured) could soon be a victim of the Harare football giants’ ruthless leadership, with reports suggesting he could be sacrificed this week despite the impressive performance in the 18 matches he has presided over since taking over from sacked Portuguese coach Paulo Jorge Silva.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

lodza-mutasa

Dynamos were edged 2-1 by Highlanders at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday to all but surrender the Premier Soccer League title chase.

A massive 12 points now separates the Glamour Boys from log leaders FC Platinum, on 47 points, with bitter city rivals Caps United in second place on the league table with 46 points, while Highlanders are third with 41 points. ZPC Kariba lie fourth with 36 points.

It’s now as clear as the October sky that Dynamos will not win the championship for the second successive season.

Even in the unlikely scenario that they win all their remaining seven matches, it is almost impossible for the Harare giants to come back from this.

The Glamour Boys have had some astonishing comebacks in the past, but this time they face a tough run-in against log leaders FC Platinum, Caps United, Triangle, Hwange, Tsholotsho and Chicken Inn in their last seven matches of the campaign.

For them to catch up with FC Platinum, they will have to pray fervently that the Zvishavane-based side lose four of their last seven matches while they win theirs.

But then again what are the odds of FC Platinum losing four games in the last seven matches, having only lost two in 23?

It is against this background that the DeMbare leadership have agreed to reconvene and consider their coach’s future.

Dynamos club president Keni Mubaiwa admitted their title dream had been buried with the defeat to Highlanders.

He said they were not happy at the turn of events and would meet with the technical team to take stock of the team’s performance.

“For this season, it’s over. We are going to meet with the technical team this week to review the team’s performance. We are not happy with the results. Nobody is happy and we have to map the way forward,” said Mubaiwa.

He dismissed reports suggesting they had earmarked former Caps United and Harare City coach Taurai Mangwiro to take over.

But Mutasa has posted impressive results in the 18 matches he has presided over since he was thrust into the hot seat after the club parted ways with Silva.

While he started off with a 1-0 defeat to log leaders FC Platinum, he has an accumulative tally of 30 points from 18 matches where Dynamos won eight, drew six and lost four.

During the same period, Norman Mapeza’s table-topping FC Platinum won nine, drew seven and lost two for an accumulative total of 34 points.

Caps United have picked 33 points during the same period after posting nine wins, six draws and three defeats.

Erol Akbay’s Highlanders garnered only one point better than Dynamos with 31 after winning nine, drawing seven and losing two matches since Mutasa took over at DeMbare.

Considering that Mutasa did not get the privilege of a pre-season with his players, he has done well to compete with the likes of Mapeza, Chitembwe and Akbay.

It is the period between mid-July and mid-August that might have destroyed Dynamos’ title hunt when they drew five matches with one defeat to Border Strikers.

Observers have pointed to the lack of goals as the team’s Achilles heel with their strikers, led by Rodreck Mutuma, struggling for form. Evans Gwekwerere, who had been brought in by Silva to solve the strike force problems, was offloaded during the mid-season transfer window after he flopped in spectacular fashion. Midfielder Masimba Mambare has emerged the torch bearer of the team’s attack.

Dynamos have scored just 16 goals compared to Caps United (22), Highlanders (22) and FC Platinum (20) during Mutasa’s reign.

Below is the form table during Mutasa’s reign so far