The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League champions, Dynamos walk into Barbourfields to face Bantu Rovers tomorrow afternoon a wounded lion seeking to put behind the nightmare of losing to newcomers ZPC Kariba last weekend.
Losing to ZPC Kariba would certainly be a lesson for the champions not to under-estimate any opposition in the league and with Bantu on cloud nine after convincingly beating How Mine 3-1 last weekend, the game is set to be explosive.
Bantu, however, are warned that DeMbare would be eager to take the three points after last week’s loss and they can only underrate the champions at their own peril.
While Dynamos are known for their slow start in the league over the years, losing to small teams early in the season might prove the champions’ undoing at the end of the season. This will be their second trip to Bulawayo after beginning their league campaign against How Mine at Barbourfields, where they won 1-0.
Bantu Rovers coach Methembe “Mayor” Ndlovu said it is an open secret that they go into the match tomorrow as underdogs and admitted it is a tough assignment. He said they will have to focus on their own abilities which they can use to beat DeMbare.
“We need to have trust, confidence and belief in ourselves as we go into the match because we understand that while we are the minnows and everyone is expecting Dynamos to maul us any team can beat any team in the league. We need to be determined as we go into the game. We should believe that we can come up with the result we want,” said Ndlovu. He said as coaches they were not having a tough assignment in psyching up their players because every player in the country gets motivated in beating the defending champions.
Dynamos are yet to lose to Bantu Rovers in their past four league meetings, winning 1-0 at Rufaro and walking 2-0 victorious in Bulawayo in 2009 while in 2010 the Glamour Boys won 1-0 at home and 2-0 away but Ndlovu said there is always a first time for everything and if ZPC Kariba managed to get one up over the defending champions there is nothing that can stop Tshintsha Guluva from handing DeMbare their second defeat of the season.
“ZPC Kariba managed to beat Dynamos in Harare where they have been invincible and on Monday (tomorrow) we are playing at home in Bulawayo so I don’t see what can stop us from producing an upset. While we would be playing for a win, I think we will still be happy if we manage to snatch a point from the match,” he said.
Ndlovu said Obadiah Tarumbwa, Teenage Hadebe and Raphael Kutinyu would have to go for a late fitness test as they suffered knocks.
“I know most football fans in Bulawayo would not be happy to see Dynamos come to the city and go back to Harare with the three points hence I urge them to come in their numbers at Barbourfields Stadium and cheer us on,” he said.
Dynamos’ strikers seem to be finding the going tough as they are yet to score in the first two league matches with their goal in the win against How Mine coming off a Brighton Dube own goal and even during the Independence Trophy Final at the National Sports Stadium on Friday against FC Platinum their goal came off the boot of their former son, Thomas Magorimbo before Qadr Amin sent the match into the shoot-out lottery after equalising deep in time added on from the spot.
The Harare giants went on to lose 3-0 after the penalty shootout.
The scenario means their under pressure coach Callisto Pasuwa would have to find the right tonic to give his forwards who have been firing blanks.
