DYNAMOS . . . . . . . . . .0 HIGHLANDERS . . . . . 0 (Dynamos won 3-2 after penalty shootout) DYNAMOS are the winners of the Gushungo Victory Cup after beating Highlanders in a penalty shootout before a near-empty National Sports Stadium yesterday. For the victory, the Harare football giants took home
TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
$45 000, while Highlanders were rewarded with $35 000.
Bosso’s King Nadolo was named man of the match.
It appeared to be a balanced affair, with both sides carving out good chances, but it was Dynamos who appeared to miss a lot of clear chances with striker Simba Sithole the chief culprit, which could have seen them sewing up the tie in regulation time.
The match eventually ended goalless to spill into the dreaded penalty shootout.
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Highlanders led 2-0 on penalties after Charles Sibanda and Innocent Mapuranga had converted their spot kicks, while Dynamos’ reliable penalty taker Augustine Mbara and Fabrice Mbimba missed theirs.
But then Valentine Ndaba, Gabriel Nyoni and goalkeeper Munyaradzi Diya went on to miss their spot kicks with Ocean Mushure and Oscar Machapa converting theirs before Blessing Moyo stepped up to seal victory for the league champions.
The match was organised to celebrate President Robert Mugabe’s victory in the harmonised elections in July last year, but the turnout was pathetic, to say the least, as it was watched by an estimated 5 000 crowd in the giant 64 000-seater stadium.
Several high-ranking government officials, including Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was the head of the organising committee, attended the match.
Mnangagwa was the guest of honour at the match also attended by Home Affairs deputy minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Sport, Arts and Culture deputy minister Tabeth Kanengoni-Malinga, MPs Mike Gava (Mhondoro Ngezi), Anastasiah Ndlovu (Proportional Representation) and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority chief executive officer Karikoga Kaseke.
Highlanders coach Mark Mathe believed his charges played one of their best games.
“It’s not that Dynamos are clever or that it was about their tactics. It’s just their time because this is perhaps our best match ever. We were very compact and when it came to penalties, I said to my players ‘I want one more ounce of character’, but Dynamos had the mental strength,” Mathe said. Dynamos coach Kalisto Pasuwa admitted Highlanders had a good game.
“The opposition was strong today. They were very compact and it was not easy. When Augustine, our regular penalty taker, missed, I was a bit nervous. I thought we would lose, but in the end we won. It’s a great feeling and I would want to thank everyone, including the supporters,” Pasuwa said.