The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
THE last time Dynamos recorded 15 draws in a Premiership season was back in 2000 during a tumultuous year that witnessed endless boardroom wars at the club, before coach Moses Chunga was suspended for insubordination.
Memory Mucherahowa was the club captain, Makwinji Soma-Phiri was his deputy while Rafiq Adam was still the chairman as DeMbare finished the 38-game season on third position behind Amazulu and champions Highlanders.
Nineteen years on, DeMbare equalled their Premiership record for the most draws in a season when they registered the 15th stalemate of a 2019 campaign in which they have largely been inconsistent and clueless in most of their assignments.
That record equalling draw came after they were held 1-1 by Manica Diamonds at Vengere last Wednesday.
Given that DeMbare have drawn their last seven games and have not lost at Rufaro since Tonderai Ndiraya took charge on April 25, the probability is high that this Class of 2019 that is just battling to stay afloat could shatter the near two-decade record when they host Highlanders in a high stakes match at the Mbare venue this afternoon.
Coincidentally, it was Highlanders who handed Dynamos their last league defeat with a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture at Barbourfields on June 16.
Bosso are on a bounce, they have not lost in their last eight matches and their Dutch mentor, Hendrik Pieter de Jongh, has undoubtedly been the best coach in the league over the last five rounds.
Highlanders have amassed 11 out of a possible 15 points since De Jongh’s first match in charge — a 2-0 win against Chicken Inn at Barbourfields on October 2.
The Bulawayo giants have clawed their way out of relegation and are now sixth on the log, a place above stagnant DeMbare, with six rounds of action left before the conclusion of the marathon.
Both teams have 39 points but Highlanders now enjoy a superior goal advantage following last Thursday’s 3-1 home win over bottom placed Yadah Stars, which came 24 hours after DeMbare had stuttered to their 15th draw at Vengere.
The draws are frustrating Ndiraya, who has been blunt in his assessment of the current crop of players at Dynamos.
“It’s so frustrating that we continue to draw matches like no man’s business.
“The team has improved a lot generally but results are always draws,” said Ndiraya.
The Dynamos coach, however, pleaded for patience from the club’s demanding fans.
Today Dynamos can bank on the experience of skipper Edward Sadomba and Godknows Murwira, while enterprising right back Emmanuel Jalai has a chance to prove his mettle on the big stage.
The 20-year-old Jalai, a product of the famed Aces Youth Academy, has been one of the stand-out performers at DeMbare, alongside dreadlocked striker Evans Katema.
Ndiraya has managed five points out of a possible 15 in the last five assignments and has been dwarfed by De Jongh, who has masterminded an astounding turnaround at Bosso.
Under De Jongh, the controversial gaffer who had been labelled a fraudster in some quarters, Highlanders have won three and drawn two, scoring nine times against three in a highly fruitful period that has seen Bosso move to within three points of the top four.
Bosso were 13th on the log with 25 points, just one above relegation, when Pieter De Jongh was appointed.
“I have the best performance in October, I have no defeat,” boasted De Jongh.
“We work hard for these results, staff and players. But on Sunday (today) we have a big clash, two of the biggest clubs in Zimbabwe are meeting.
“But the pitch at Rufaro is terrible, football must be played on a normal grass pitch,” bemoaned De Jongh.
Coincidentally, the Dutchman’s first match in charge of Highlanders was against Dynamos in a Chibuku Super Cup first round, which Bosso won courtesy of a solitary Prince Dube strike at Rufaro on September 29.
Dube has been the main driver of Bosso’s resurgence but the Warriors’ striker misses today’s blockbuster as he is still serving suspension for a red card in the 1-1 draw at ZPC Kariba on October 23.
“Prince Dube is an excellent player but we have other good players, players who can also score. We scored a couple of goals in midweek in the absence of Prince,” said De Jongh.
Tinashe Makanda, Godfrey Makaruse and Mbongeni Ndlovu were on target against Yadah while the returning “bad boy” Denzel Khumalo had a blinder of a game at Babourfields.
Fixtures:
Yadah Stars v Chapungu (NSS),
ZPC Kariba v Black Rhinos (Nyamhunga),
Hwange v Mushowani Stars (Colliery),
TelOne v Caps United (Ascot),
Chicken Inn v Triangle (postponed)
