The Sunday Mail
Ishemunyoro Chingwere
DYNAMOS’ desperate quest to restore normal operations has received a major boost with news that their hosts today, Border Strikers, are struggling to put together a team. The two teams meet in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash at Dulivhadzimu. Border Strikers lost 13 players during the just closed mid-season transfer window and are seeking league authority to register 10 replacements instead of the permissible maximum of five.
The matter is set to be heard by the league’s emergency management committee.
The Never Malunga-coached side had just three players on the substitutes’ bench for their match day 16 fixture against How Mine.
This afternoon they may have none.
Club secretary Rodlet Chigwinya said they have just 17 registered players, and of that lot, three have not been training with the club, leaving Malunga to make do with just 14 people in the squad.
“We are in a rather precarious situation where we might end up failing to get 11 players for a match,” said Chigwinya.
“What happened is we lost 13 of our players in the just ended mid-season transfer window. While we have no problems replacing the 13, the quandary now is that PSL rules only allow us to register a maximum of five.
“We have so far registered the permissible five, bringing the number to 17 hence our decision to appeal to the league for a waiver so that we can register five more.
“Our situation has further been compounded by the fact that three of the registered 17 – Livingstone Genti, Munyaradzi Chirape and Mostaf Mugadzaweta – are not training due to varying reasons.”
Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa needs his team to bounce back to winning ways after posting four dull goalless draws on the bounce.
A clash with a troubled Border Strikers outfit might just give him some breathing room.
“I have always said the title destiny is not in our hands from the very day I took over,” said Mutasa. “Our failure to score has been our biggest undoing and it’s high time we turn that corner if we are to make an impression.
“We have been hard on it at training and have tried a number of strategies but still the goals are eluding us. “But we don’t throw in the towel, we will continue fighting hard and see where we will end.”
Basement club Border Strikers have found the going tough and will need a strong showing in the second half of the season to avoid one of the two relegation slots.
They have just two wins in 17 matches. They are also the league’s poorest attacking team having scored just four goals.
However, the 22 goals they have let in means they have a better defence than Mutare City who have conceded 26.
Fixtures (all matches kick-off at 3pm)
Triangle v Highlanders (Gibbo), How Mine v Harare City (Luveve), Mutare City Rovers v Tsholotsho (Sakubva), Border Strikers v Dynamos (Dulivhadzimu)
