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NewsDay

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DeMbare title dream still alive: Mutasa

Sport
After seeing his team carve out two wins on the trot, Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa believes his team is on the ascendancy and is still in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title contention.

After seeing his team carve out two wins on the trot, Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa believes his team is on the ascendancy and is still in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League title contention.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

DeMbare are 14 points behind log leaders, Ngezi Platinum Stars following their poor start to the season, where they went for seven matches without a win, only to begin their recovery on Sunday, when they beat Bulawayo City before the 2-1 win over Chapungu in Gweru on Wednesday.

Despite the gap, Mutasa said his team’s recovery has not come too late and they can catch up with the other title contenders.

The former Dynamos midfielder got a relief with the back-to-back wins that have lifted Dynamos from 17th to 10th position on the 18-team log table.

He, however, faces a testing fixture when they host Harare City at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday. Harare City have been playing good football since the begining of the campaign and they have stopped Triangle’s winning streak on Wednesday.

Mutasa sees things brightening up for his side with some players recovering from injuries.

“It’s not too late, I believe we can still contend for this year’s title,” Mutasa said after his team’s triumph over struggling Chapungu.

“It was always coming and I knew one day we were going to win and regain our form. I have always told the boys that we can do better than last season,” he said.

“With a little bit of luck, I think we can grind as many more wins because the league is still in its infancy.”

Mutasa said he expected his side to be stronger as the injuries list shrinked.

“We have a number of key players who are coming back from injury and their presence will definitely make the team stronger than before. The team is on the ascendancy, but like always we take each game as it comes and we know that every game comes with its own pressure with our fans coming expecting nothing less than a win. We are determined to keep on winning.”

Mutasa was sitting on a three-match ultimatum, but he seems to have won himself more time as Dynamos coach. Last season, DeMbare also made a poor start to their campaign, but later recovered to force themselves among the title contenders, a battle they eventually lost to FC Platinum on the last day of the race.

Their problem this season is that three teams, namely Ngezi, FC Platinum and Highlanders are already at least 11 points ahead of them.

Ngezi are still unbeaten and their only blemishes are two draws, while Highlanders and FC Platinum have lost one match each.