DYNAMOS coach, Lloyd Mutasa has warned his players not to take their clash against Chapungu this afternoon at Ascot Stadium for granted, when the two teams play the remaining 34 minutes of their June 18 abandoned Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) match.
BY HENRY MHARA/ TERRY MADYAUTA
The Harare giants will resume the match leading comfortably at 4-0, the scoreline when the game was called off in the 56th minute after a goalpost fell.
Despite the huge advantage, Mutasa wants his players to put the same focus and determination they would have had if the match started afresh.
“This is the first time we are playing such a match. We are not used to that. We have prepared well for it and I have told the players to guard against complacency, taking into consideration that the match is not over,” he said.
“But we have four goals in the bag, so we will have to try and manage the game to get maximum points.”
While adding further goals will be the least of Mutasa’s priorities, he is pleased to welcome back star striker, Christian Ntouba, who missed the Harare derby against Caps United on Sunday due to suspension.
The Cameroonian is serving a two-match suspension for a head-butt offence, but has been allowed to play in today’s match, with the suspension carried over to Dynamos’ next PSL-sanctioned match.
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“He has done well since his arrival. He plays an important role in the team in terms of not only scoring goals, but bringing creativity and co-ordinating play. His absence was obviously clear against Caps United, so we welcome him back into the team,” Mutasa said.
The DeMbare coach also welcomes back into the team Tichaona Chipunza and defender Lincoln Zvasiya, who missed the United match serving suspensions for accumulating three yellow cards.
Bad boy Denver Mukamba, who was axed from the team at the weekend for disciplinary reasons, has also been recalled and is part of the travelling party.
“He (Denver) is back in the team. He trained well yesterday (Tuesday) and today (yesterday). We have spoken to him and we hope he keeps his feet on the ground,” Mutasa said.
If Dynamos manage to see off the match and get maximum points, they will go to 52 points, and shoot to the top of the PSL log standings for the first time this season, with nine games to go.
And Mutasa does not want to miss that chance.
“We are fighting for that. If we win and go top, it’s an indication that we have done better than all the other teams after 25 rounds of matches. We will do our best to achieve that,” he said.
Chapungu coach, Tendai Chikuni reckons they are facing an uphill task, as they try to reverse a four-goal deficit, but is not throwing in the towel as yet.
“It is really a difficult task. I have never been in this situation before, but one thing for sure is we will try our best. We are ready and we will only need to be focused and like always we take each task as it comes,” he said.
Chapungu wrote to the PSL this week asking for the match to be postponed, on the grounds that they had many injuries in the team.
Only players that were on the team sheet for the initial match are allowed to play, and Chapungu argued that two had already left the club, while four were injured, leaving them with just 12 players for the match, including two goalkeepers. However, the PSL yesterday shot down their request.
“There haven’t been any changes to the fixture, so the match is on,” PSL communications and media liaison officer, Kudzai Bare said.
