Mangombe reads riot act

Langton Nyakwenda

AT LEAST they can afford to smile a bit, maybe for now.

The past week has been hectic for Dynamos, who are preparing for a blockbuster opening to their 2024 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League campaign.

After suffering a rude awakening defeat against Ngezi Platinum Stars in the Castle Challenge Cup at Baobab last weekend, the Harare giants endured a soul-searching week that saw coach Genesis Mangombe reading the riot act to his players.

Clearly, Mangombe was not happy with his players’ attitude during the 0-2 loss against the league champions.

He has been reminding his charges about the need to respect the Dynamos badge.

DeMbare put on a disjointed show at Baobab and also lost skipper Frank Makarati to a knee injury.

Tanaka Shandirwa’s attitude was also questioned after that game.

The usually dependable central midfielder was mainly visible more because of his dropped shorts than his shift on the park.

The other major talking point from that loss was the absence of DeMbare’s new signings Frederick Ansah Botchway of Ghana and Sadney Urikhob of Namibia, whose work permits were not yet processed.

Botchway’s countryman, Emmanuel Paga, also sat out because of the same issue.

Paga has been with Dynamos for the last two seasons but his work permit expired at the end of last year.

However, a silver lining appeared in that dark cloud, towards the end of the week, as Dynamos finally secured work permits for their foreign trio, ahead of next weekend’s Battle of Zimbabwe clash against Highlanders at Barbourfields.

Makarati is also slowly recovering from that knee injury he suffered after clashing with Ngezi striker Claude “Pokello” Mapoka.

“The good news for our club and fans is that we have now secured work permits for the trio of Paga, Urikhob and Botchway.

“They are all now available for the upcoming season opener against Highlanders,” said Dynamos chief executive officer Jonathan Mashingaidze.

“We are already preparing for the big match against Highlanders and the availability of these players should be a big boost for Dynamos.”

But Mangombe was not happy with his player’s approach to the game against Ngezi last weekend.

“We did a video analysis of the game and we had time to see where we got it wrong.

“We have been trying to correct all the mistakes and also trying to make sure we have good combination play, especially when playing a team which is aggressive.

“You have to lose some games for you to become stronger,” he said.

He added: “One good thing is that some players we missed last week are now available. The work permits for the foreign players are out and it’s a massive boost.

“Frank (Makarati) is recovering very well. He was doing some light training and we expect him to start serious training next week (this week).

“But I am sure he will be fine in time for the match against Highlanders.”

Mangombe is convinced DeMbare can outshine Bosso, but fears complacency might work against his charges.

“It will be like a cup game.

“We are trying to create an environment of knowing that it will not be easy. We can’t lose two games in a fortnight.

“We will not change the way we play; we want to change the mentality.

“We are going to wipe away the complacency mentality. You win a game after playing.”