Shabanie Mine hold Dynamos in thriller

By Paul Mundandi in Zvishavane

Shabanie Mine …………….. (0) 1 Dynamos ……………….. (0) 1

DYNAMOS once again failed to exert pressure on leaders Motor Action when they were restricted to a draw by Shabanie Mine in a thrilling Premiership game at Maglas on Wednesday.

DeMbare have been forced to play catch-up with the Mighty Bulls in the championship race, but they have been huffing and puffing. Dynamos put up a good show but missed several scoring opportunities in the second half to settle for a draw.

Striker Fetrigo Santiago denied DeMbare a deserved win when he scored Shabanie Mine’s equaliser late in the second half after exciting midfielder Thaba-ni Kamusoko had put the Glamour Boys ahead in the 61st minute.

Dynamos were on top of their game despite missing the services of key players like Desmond Maringwa, Benjamin Marere, Milton Makopa and David Kutya-uripo through injury.

The Harare giants played with great determination and could have stolen the lead after 15 minutes of play but Murape Murape, unmarked inside the box, lost his footing and failed to do justice to Phillip Sithole’s cross. After the breather, Shabanie could have gone a goal ahead, but Mageja’s bicycle kick went over the bar.

Evans Gwekwerere, who enjoyed a free rein in the Shabanie half, could have put Dynamos in the lead when he came face-to-face with goalkeeper Mazingi, but somehow blasted his effort into the skies after receiving a perfect pass from Murape in the 53rd minute.

A minute later, Murape provided the striker with another glorious opportunity in the box and with Mazingi at his mercy, Gwekwerere again directed his effort over the bar. The miners then made a mess when they gave away a free kick to DeMbare on the edge of the box.

Kamusoko took the responsibility and curled a beauty over the wall to find the top right corner of the net in the 61st minute. Following the goal, Dynamos took control for a while with Wonder Sithole and Kamusoko dictating the pace in midfield and Arubi employing all the delaying tactics in the book as the three points looked certain.

The asbestos miners, however, were not daunted and they nearly equalised in the 73rd minute through Mudena but Arubi was equal to the task. A minute later Lennon Chisunga who was well supported by Tafadzwa Mombeshora released a trademark shot that Arubi parried back into play and before Mageja could put his foot on it he had the ball safely cuddled in his hands on the second attempt.

The hosts finally got it right when Santiago released Mudena on the left flank and received the return pass before blasting a powerful left footer past Arubi to level terms. Dynamos could have killed the match as a contest when substitute Dylan Chivandire beat an ill-devised offside trap and saw himself face to face with outdrawn goalkeeper Mazingi who did well to block the lobbed effort in the 86th minute.

Dynamos assistant coach Simon Chuma was not satisfied with the result and bemoaned the two points dropped rather than the point they gained.

“We deserved to win 4-0. I am not happy with the result but I am happy with the performance. We wasted chances and paid dearly for it,” Chuma said.

Shabanie Mine coach John Phiri blamed “poor officiating’’ for denying his team maximum points.

“Nonetheless a point against Dynamos is still okay and I am happy that we are maintaining our position on the table. My players were careless in the last 15 minutes as they were jittery and we could have won had we maintained the tempo,” he said.

Teams

Shabanie Mine: R. Mazingi, S. Shoko, F. Santiago, B. Dimanji, S. Muchabaiwa, T. Mombeshora, L. Chisunga, C. Masocha, P. Mudena (J. Chitereki 76th min), M. Mageja, T. Rukanda

Dynamos: W. Arubi, P. Sithole, B. Tuwaya, M. Mahala, T. Mamvura, G. Zhokinyu, W. Sithole (H. Mundwa 84th min), T. Kamusoko, M. Murape, E. Mashiri (D. Chivandire 78th min), E Gwekwerere.