BY HENRY MHARA
DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya believes the arrival of striker Alex Orotomal at the club could be the answer to his team’s goal-scoring problems.
The Nigerian is one of the three West Africans who signed for the Harare giants last week.
Ghanaians Emmanuel Paga, who is also a striker, and attacking midfielder Martin Ofori also joined the club. Their arrival means there are now five West African players at Dynamos who already have Ghanaian Sylvester Appiah and striker Albert Eonde of Cameroon.
The Glamour Boys have been very busy on the transfer market after they also signed striker Evans Katema, who is returning to the club after an unsuccessful stint in Zambia, midfielder Ralph Kawondera and leftback Brendon Mpofu to bolster their already strong-looking squad.
Of the three strikers that they have snatched, it is the lanky 19-year-old Orotomal who is giving Ndiraya goosebumps.
“He is an incredible player, very fast and powerful,” Ndiraya said. “The only thing that is lacking in him is endurance, but we are working on that.”
The West Africans underwent trials at the club before they were given contracts.
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Orotomal apparently caught the eye of the coach with his bustling play.
“When you see a defender such as Patson Jaure failing to contain a player, then you know you have something there. He (Orotomal) is different. He is giving defenders a torrid time at training,” Ndiraya said.
Orotomal is joining Dynamos from AS Kigali of Rwanda where he played in the Caf Confederations Cup and has two goals to his name in the competition.
His experience playing in the African safari could come in handy for Ndiraya who is desperate for a good striker to take his team to the league title.
Ndiraya has often complained that the strikeforce department is the team’s weak point with his strikers firing blanks in the games they have played this season.
The five-man strikeforce of Eonde, Tinashe Makanda, Newman Sianchali, David Temwanjira and young Luke Musikiri have contributed only two goals in the 17 matches the team played in the Chibuku Super Cup and league.
Both were scored by Eonde in the matches against Herentals and Yadah in the Chibuku Super Cup where the team reached the semifinals of the tournament.
The two goals the team has scored in three league matches came from midfielders.
“We need to be consistent in terms of goal-scoring. We have relied too much on our midfielders to score. Our strikers have not been consistent and we hope that they can improve and change things and apply a smash and grab mentality,” Ndiraya said.
Sianchali and Temwanjira have paid a huge price of the team’s impotence as they have both been released to make way for the new arrivals. Ali Maliselo and Takunda Mawarire have also been told to find new employers.
Midfielder Juan Mutudza, who was one of the team’s outstanding players, has refused to sign a new contract and is believed to be on his way to FC Platinum.
Utility player Godknows Murwira is also yet to agree to a new contract and has been linked with a move to Manica Diamonds.
The Premier League season, which took a break in December, is expected to resume on February 12.
- Follow Henry on Twitter @henrymhara
