Dynamos winless start continues

Zimpapers Sports Hub

HARARE giants Dynamos remain without a win in the 2025 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign after settling for a third successive draw, this time against TelOne at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.

Dynamos’ only consolation is that they finally scored a goal, but it had to come off a TelOne player, who beat his own goalkeeper in the first half.

The three draws, which have seen six points dropped, leave Dynamos 11th on the log and they can drop two places down this afternoon if ZPC Kariba and CAPS United manage to win their respective matches at Sakubva Stadium and the GreenFuel Arena, respectively.

Elsewhere, traditional giants Highlanders squandered an opportunity to take over at the summit of the PSL standings after surrendering a 2-0 halftime lead to draw 2-2 at GreenFuel.  This allowed newcomers MWOS to move top after a 2-0 win over depleted Yadah at the Baobab Stadium.

A first-half strike by Billy Veremu and a second-half goal by debutant Wilson Mensah sealed the win for Lloyd Mutasa’s men.

Champions Simba Bhora registered their first win of the season, beating Herentals College 1-0, courtesy of Namibian Isaskar Gurirab’s 89th minute winner.

At Rufaro, Ephraim Gwekwerere, son of former Dynamos hero Evans made his debut for the Harare giants, but could not make an impact as DeMbare laboured to a third successive draw. Some fans are beginning to get restless, but coach Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe is confident his charges will soon get it right.

He noted some positives in yesterday’s game, in which Dynamos had control in the first half, where TelOne defender Pavel Govere turned Valentine Kadonzvo’s cross into his own net.

Gangly TelOne forward Washington Navaya levelled matters nine minutes after the restart, chesting the ball nicely before volleying past a desperate Prince Tafiremutsa.

TelOne will feel they deserved a penalty late in the game when Tawanda Macheke was fouled, but the referee waved play on.

Dynamos captain Emmanuel Jalai had another good performance at right-back.

“It’s disappointing to go for three games without a win, but the good thing is we are yet to lose a game,” he said.

“We had a good first half. I hope we keep maintaining that going forward. We are mixing experience and youth as we go.”

TelOne coach Herbert Maruwa was happy with a point, which takes the Gweru side to four points.

“It was a game of two halves, first half they dominated, but in the second half we came out strong, and we got the equaliser. It’s a point gained,” he said.

In the 77th minute, Chigowe introduced Gwekwerere, whose father Evans rocked Rufaro in the mid-2000s, as DeMbare searched for the winner.

But TelOne hung on for a crucial point they will gladly take back to the Midlands.

The Wi-Fi Boys paraded some of their new signings, including skipper Frank Makarati and Leeroy Murape.

At the GreenFuel Arena, perennial giants Highlanders conceded deep in injury time to surrender their 2-0 first-half lead and settle for a share of spoils against GreenFuel.

The visitors dominated in the opening minutes, and they were clinical as they converted the two chances they created.

GreenFuel defenders Collin Mujuru and captain Honest Moyo were not convincing and cheaply gave away possession as Prince Ndlovu scored inside four minutes after a good pass from Brighton Ncube.

Ndlovu turned provider 20 minutes later after he was gifted the ball by Moyo and his cross was converted by Reason Moyo, who headed into an open net to double their lead.

GreenFuel regrouped and controlled the remainder of the half, but Highlanders goalkeeper Raphael Pitisi kept them at bay with some fantastic saves.

They continued to pile pressure soon after the interval and were rewarded with an early goal, with first-half substitute Washington Mapuwa beating the offside trap to score an easy goal following a pass from Perfect Chikwende in the 49th minute.

Pitisi was again the villain when he slipped as he rushed to dispatch the ball and another substitute and veteran midfielder Ronald Chitiyo made no mistake to level matters deep in the last minute of injury time.

Highlanders gaffer Kelvin Kaindu looked dejected after the full-time whistle as he again failed to collect maximum points on the road despite controlling the better part of the match.

“It’s a very painful draw, I would say it’s two points dropped,” he said. “Two big mistakes in three games from a goalkeeper that has been with the national team is not expected, but we understand it was not his intention, it’s early and we hope to learn from that, but it will be painful if it’s a game that takes your championship away.”

GreenFuel coach Taurai Mangwiro was happy with the character displayed by his charges for keeping the unbeaten home record despite trailing by two goals early in the match.

“We had to dig deep to rescue a point, and I want to give my boys the credit for the resilience they showed, the strength and the belief that we don’t lose at home is what carried us through,” he said.

At Bata Stadium, Kwekwe United put behind their in-house squabbles to record a 1-0 victory over Bikita Minerals in an entertaining match.

The newcomers’ players spent the better part of the week boycotting training over unpaid dues.

The effects of the missed training days were visible for the hosts as they struggled in the second half and had Lady Luck to thank for the victory.

Their goalkeeper, Lennon Gonese, was arguably the man of the match as he pulled off a string of good saves to deny the visitors.

In the end, Masimba Mambare’s first-half strike was enough to secure Kwekwe United’s first win in the topflight.

Kwekwe United coach Saul Chaminuka praised his charges for their fortitude, but felt there was need to put their house in order.

“We gave them too much space and time on the ball. From the start you could tell this was not my team,” decried Chaminuka.

“Normally, we control possession, we can lose but you will see that this is how we play, so I would like to think we were affected by the goings-on throughout this week.”

Bikita Minerals coach Wilson Mutekede bemoaned the missed chances but was impressed by his charges’ performance.

“The positives that we take from the match is that we are playing with so much fluidity. That is what we have always wanted. With the way we dominated in the second half, I thought we were going to walk away with maximum points,” he said.

At Luveve Stadium, Chicken Inn were left ruing missed opportunities as they conceded a late equaliser to FC Platinum in a 1-1 draw at home.

The Gamecocks had looked set to secure their first three points of the season after Brian Muza’s 66th-minute strike but a goalkeeping error in the 85th minute allowed Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya to level the score.