Chigowe’s herculean task

By Onward Gangata

Dynamos interim coach Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe believes the fading Harare giants need to be pragmatic if they are to survive relegation from the Castle Lager Premiership this season.

With just six games to go before the season ends, DeMbare find themselves in the drop zone in 15th place on the log with a paltry 31 points.

At the weekend, Chigowe took charge of his first match following the sacking of Lloyd Mutasa last weekend when the Glamour Boys travelled to Mandava Stadium to face defending champions FC Platinum.

However, it was not a good outing for DeMbare as FC Platinum scored two first half goals through Mkhokheli Dube and reigning Soccer Star of the Year Rodwell Chinyengetere to secure a crucial win for themselves.

Results on Sunday saw DeMbare drop into the relegation places leaving the Harare giants in a very difficult situation in the remaining matches before the season ends.
Chigowe is fully aware of the task at hand for his side and is calling for a hard nosed approach if they are to escape the chop.

“We now have to be pragmatic and make the right decisions because now we are walking on a very tight rope,” Chigowe said after the defeat to Pure Platinum Play.

“The good thing is we are playing against the teams we are in the relegation mix with, but in those matches we must make good decisions and apply ourselves to get positive results.”Chigowe believes he has the right mix in his squad to turn around the fortunes of the faltering Harare giants.

“I think minus the mistakes made by our defence, I have the side that has the potential to turn the tide,” Chigowe said.In their remaining fixtures, Dynamos will face Black Rhinos (h) Herentals (a), Triangle (h), Mutare City Rovers (h), Nichrut (a) and CAPS United (h).

“In my estimation, I think we need about 10 to 12 points, which means we need approximately three wins and a draw or four wins and we are safe,” Chigowe said.

From Saturday’s display, the problematic area Chigowe needs to deal with is his defence which has conceded 30 goals in 28 matches.Centre back Godfrey Mukambi remains the DeMbare fans darling but if truth be told, he at times is the team’s weakest link.

Mukambi over commits when going into challenges and when in possession, his default reaction is to hack long balls into the opposition half.Phakamani Dube is proving to be the only reliable centre back and Chigowe needs to find a steady partner for the defender.

Midfielder Denver Mukamba also missed the defeat to FC Platinum but Chigowe denied that he had gone AWOL.“Look, Denver had a problem and he communicated with us.

His wife was not feeling well and he was attending to her; by the time he was done it was too late and he could not catch up with us.” Daily News.