The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Dynamos and Highlanders have to look back to the now defunct Mbada Diamonds tournament to find their last Cup success.
The last time Dynamos won a major knockout tournament was back in 2012 when they edged Monomotapa 2-0 at Rufaro to clinch the Mbada Diamonds Cup.
Highlanders’ last big smile was in 2013 when they walloped How Mine 3-0 to claim the same cup.
Since then, especially after the introduction of the Chibuku Super Cup in 2014, the country’s biggest football brands have watched from the sidelines as other clubs rule in the knockout competitions.
FC Platinum won the inaugural Chibuku Super Cup in 2014 after Dynamos had faltered at the first hurdle.
DeMbare reached the final in 2015, under Tonderai Ndiraya, but they were beaten 2-1 by a smart Harare City at the National Sports.
That was the closest Dynamos got while Highlanders have never reached the final of the country’s premier knockout competition.
Bosso reached the semi-final in 2016 but were dumped out by eventual winners Ngezi Platinum Stars.
Harare City and Triangle won the 2017 and 2018 editions as both DeMbare and Bosso were once again pushed to the backwaters.
Hence today’s clash between Dynamos and Highlanders, in the Chibuku Super Cup first round clash at Rufaro, is of paramount importance and contains a number of sub-plots.
Both DeMbare and Bosso, who are enduring one of their worst seasons since the turn of the millennium and are on the verge of introducing another foreign coach, see the Chibuku Super Cup as an opportunity to win some silverware.
Any silverware, for that matter.
“It has been long (without winning a major cup), so we have to do better this time around. Dynamos versus Highlanders is massive, these are big rivals, even when we are playing for nothing, duels are always tense,” under firer Highlanders coach Mandla “Lulu” Mpofu said.
“We know it will not be easy, we are not doing well in the league so we have to compensate by going all the way to the Chibuku Super Cup final.”
However, Mpofu who was in charge of Bosso in the build up to this epic encounter, might revert back to the assistant position following the unveiling of controversial Dutch mentor Pieter de Jongh last Friday.
The last time these two giants met was in a league match which Highlanders won 1-0 at Barbourfields on June 16 and that has been DeMbare’s only defeat since then.
And Ndiraya expects a different result at Rufaro this time around.
“We expect a blockbuster match, the two sides always produce exciting matches.
“The last time we played them we lost, I thought we had done well to deserve a draw, but it was a mistake from our keeper and it cost us.
“We are playing at home and a Cup game is a different ball game altogether. We hope our boys will rise to the occasion, a Cup game is something that we can control, you control your destiny up to the final, unlike in the league where we are behind,” said Ndiraya.
DeMbare are missing their top strikers Evans Katema and Simba Nhivi as well as skipper Edward Sadomba through injury, but they welcome back Tawanda Macheke from a long layoff.
“It has been difficult with injuries but this is an opportunity for the team to win silverware, but like I said, we are expecting a very changed Highlanders, which we are fully prepared for. I hope we can use home advantage and win on Sunday (today.)”
“They were better than us the last time, especially in the midfield, but we want to make sure we don’t give them much space. We hope to take our chances and win the game,” said Ndiraya. There has been talk of a technical shake up at Highlanders, where the much travelled and controversial Dutch coach Pieter De Jongh is expected to take over from Mpofu anytime soon, but the latter was not perturbed during the build up.
“That issue (news about a new coach) doesn’t move me an inch. There are things that I can’t control, and there are things I can control but for now I am channeling all my energy towards the Dynamos game,” said Mpofu. With Warriors striker Prince Dube back in form, Highlanders, who registered a morale boosting 3-1 league win against Bulawayo Chiefs midweek, expect to get something at Rufaro.
That win was Bosso’s first in six matches and it pushed them to 11th position on the log standings. “But Dynamos are a completely changed side, Tonde (Ndiraya) has done a really great job there. We have to face them in the first round, which is a tough hurdle indeed, but we are prepared psychologically,” said Mpofu
