BY HENRY MHARA Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya has praised Taurai Mangwiro’s impact at Harare City and knows the Sunshine Boys will be tough opponents in tomorrow’s Harare Derby at the National Sports Stadium.
Mangwiro rejoined Harare City at the end of January from Triangle and has transformed the team into one of the most exciting teams.
He has been in charge of four matches since taking over from Lloyd Chitembwe, and his impressive report card shows two wins, one draw and one loss.
That defeat came away to defending champions FC Platinum.
Ndiraya acknowledges the “outstanding work” that Mangwiro is doing and believes Dynamos won’t have it easy tomorrow.
“We are playing a good side because of the coach who is coaching that team,” Ndiraya said. “He (Mangwiro) is a very organised man, and a good coach, so we are expecting a very tough match. We are expecting an organised Harare City, tactically which is astute so it’s going to be a very difficult match but one which we hope we can get over.”
Complicating Ndiraya’s situation for the match is the absence of two key men — Patson Jaure and Keith Murera — who have both been ruled out due to injuries.
Jaure’s central defensive partner Frank Makarati missed the team’s training session yesterday, and will have to pass a late fitness test to feature in the match.
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Dynamos currently lie third on the log table with 16 points, three behind Chicken Inn who have a tough away fixture at Ngezi Platinum Stars tomorrow.
“It’s a good direction that we are taking, a very good trajectory, but these are early days and we are not reading much into that. What we are reading much into is the consistency that we have had in the past three matches, So we hope that we can continue on that trajectory. We know what we want, our target and if we continue in this path then it gives us a good chance of getting to the top. That is not going to be easy, we are not alone in this league. We are not playing easy teams, and if you look at the points separating the teams on the log standings, it gives you an indication of how stiff the competition is at the moment. But we are confident. We have a good team. We have worked hard in the last three games and we will continue to work hard in future.”
Very little separate the teams at the top, with second-placed Manica Diamonds on 17 points, while Triangle is fourth, behind Dynamos only on goal difference.
Ngezi Platinum Stars, another genuine title contender are fifth with 15 points going into the ninth round of matches this weekend.
Harare City are tenth on the log standings with 10 points and will go into tomorrow’s match buoyed by their confidence-boosting 2-1 win away to Bulawayo Chiefs last weekend. That result followed a hard fought goalless draw against Chicken Inn, and Mangwiro would certainly fancy his side to get another positive result this weekend.
Premier League matchday nine fixtures
Today: ZPC Kariba v Tenax (Nyamhunga), Herentals v Caps United (National Sports Stadium), Black Rhinos v Bulawayo Chiefs (Sakubva), Ngezi Platinum Stars v Chicken Inn (Baobab, 1pm), Bulawayo City v Triangle (Barbourfields)
Tomorrow: Whawha v Craneborne Bullets (Ascot), Manica Diamonds v FC Platinum (Sakubva), Harare City v Dynamos (National Sports Stadium), Highlanders v Yadah (Barbourfields)
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