Ngezi Platinum Stars . . . . . . . 0
Dynamos (0) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Premier Soccer League giants Dynamos ended a nine year wait for a major domestic trophy after they defeated Ngezi Platinum Stars in a highly entertaining Chibuku Super Cup final at Baobab Stadium yesterday.
Teenage star Elton Chikona, who was voted the league's Most Promising Player, gave DeMbare the lead in the second half before Nigerian striker Emmanuel Paga ended the match as a contest on the stroke of fulltime.
DeMbare had not won a major trophy on the local scene since they won the league title back in 2014.
It was also the first time that the Glamour Boys have lifted the Chibuku Super Cup since its return in 2014.
The victory also meant that Dynamos had something to show off with this season as they celebrated their 60th anniversary.
Coach Genesis Mangombe was ecstatic after winning his major trophy in the topflight league.
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"I am very happy and thumbs up to the boys. They have the fighting spirit and they wanted to prove to the world that they can do it. They also played according to the game strategy and also the way we wanted to reserve energy and make sure that we find an avenue to get a goal and also the second one that silenced them," Mangombe said.
"We said (to the team) it's a cup game. We don't need a lot of things. We just need to keep it simple and make sure that when we get chances, we punish them. If you see in the first half we created numerous chances which we failed to convert.
"But in the second half we said we have to calm down and make sure we put the ball into the back of the net. And if you see the second half we tried to dominate possession and also we were a bit more patient than in the first half. It yielded results and we managed to score twice," he added.
Ngezi Platinum missed out on a league and cup double and coach Takesure Chiragwi bemoaned mistakes at the back.
"We really wanted to win and we could not manage which is good and I would like to congratulate Dynamos. They deserved to win. They threw everything at us and took their chances and managed to score. We made mistakes in our defence and we got punished. We can't ask for more, it's football and we fight again next season," he said.
The match started at high octane pace in the searing heat of Mhondoro-Ngezi.
Dynamos dominated the early exchanges but it was Ngezi Platinum who came close to taking the lead after Malvin Gaki's curling shot from inside the box crashed against the crossbar and bounced back into play.
It would be the best chance of the half as both teams took turns to miss the target.
Dynamos got a free kick in a dangerous position halfway through the first half but the wall did its job to thwart Issa Sadiki's effort
Striker Tinotenda Murasiranwa had an opportunity to give the hosts the lead late in the half after cutting inside from the left side but his shot sailed just over the bar.
Ngezi Platinum had the first big chance in the second half after Takunda Benhura was sent on goal by Qadr Amini but Pride Tafiremutsa did well to stop his low shot barely five minutes after the breather.
Emmanuel Jalai had a penalty shout waved away by referee Brighton Chimene after he fell under the challenge from Leslie Kashitigu.
It was in the 73rd minute that Dynamos broke the deadlock.
An initial effort by man of the match Sadiki was defended by Kudzai Chigwida and the ball fell graciously on Chikona, who had the simple task of rolling it over the line with the goalkeeper Chang Marion already wrong footed.
Paga doubled the scores on the stroke of fulltime capitalising on a defensive mixup between Marlon Mushonga and Marion, the latter failing to handle a back pass and was dispossessed by the Dynamos striker.
The match was played in a carnival atmosphere with Baobab Stadium almost full to capacity.
Teams:
Ngezi Platinum: C Marion, P Moyo, K Chigwida, P Moyo, M Gaki (T Mandinyenya 62),T Benhura, G Madhake, Q Amini(E Mweha 62') , L Kashitigu, B Mtigo ( M Mushonga 80'), F Madhanaga, T Murasiranwa ( C Mapoka 62')
Dynamos: P Tafiremutsa, E Chikona ( E Paga 79'), K Moyo, T Shandirwa( A Musiyiwa 85'), F Makarati, J Makunike (S Nyahwa 79'), E Jalai, D Dzvinyai, K Madera (E Illunga 47'), I Sadiki, D Mudadi ( Emmanuel Ziocha 85')
