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09 June 2008
By Emmanuel Magaisa
Dynamos...........................0
Monomotapa...........................1
Monomotapa must be floating on cloud nine after recording victories against the
country's perennial giants in the premier league. Highlanders and CAPS United were
their first gigantic victims and this time the defending champions, Dynamos, fell by
the wayside after a superb display of patience and discipline, complemented by
determination, paid dividends to this upcoming outfit.
It was not a victory they got
without sweat as the Harare giants gave the minnows a good run for their money,
according to Monomotapa secretary David Makombe. Notably, the match was played in a
fair play atmosphere and it was worthwhile for the fans.
The first half belonged to dembare who dominated the exchanges with the ageless
Desmond Maringwa , complimented by Mtshumayeli Moyo dictating the pace in the middle
of the park. They ran rings around the Monos midfield and pushed their fellow
Hararians to the wall and launched a good number of raids.
Monos were lucky not to
have conceded in the 25th minute when Wonder Sithole rifled for goal, only to see
his superb effort cannon off the woodwork. However, the Monos defence stood their
ground as real footballers who are oozing with confidence after a streak of
victories, four consecutive ones to be precise. Monos coach Norman Mapeza must have
heaved a sigh of relief, he who laughs last, laughs the longest.
Dynamos will be admiring their opponents' well marshalled defence as they had
relentlessly launched attacks which the cool headed Monos defence absorbed with the
kind of maturity and composure which has come to characterise strong leagues in the
country. They went on to show that one needs a strong foundation to build a strong
house. They showed this by taking the game to the home side who had not tasted an
experience of this magnitude for about a year now. Start slowly but bring it up
firmly and it will stand strong. This must be the motto which Mapeza must have
adopted after his first four defeats in the league.
It must have been a shock for the Dembare duo of Maringwa and Moyo that they went to
half time with the score line at nil all after their dynamic show in the first. They
really reigned supreme in this period and especially Maringwa's experience was
telling. The hard work in the first half must have sapped the endurance out of the
Dembare midfield as the second half proved to be a different story altogether. The
Monomotapa side turned the tables around and took the game to Dynamos.
An unfortunate incident saw Fidelis Mangezi handling inside the box in the 58th
minute and this brought the wrath out of Monomotapa coach Mapeza whose touchline
reaction showed his complete disagreement with the decision to award the penalty. Up
stepped former CAPS United man Leonard Tsipa whose harmless strike did not cause
much of a headache to goalkeeper Godfrey Mangowe who made a brilliant save. This
must have been an inspiration to Monomotapa who revamped their game on realisation
that they were true giant killers, and not at all pretenders.
David Makombe vowed they will end the season in the top four on the log. With about a quarter of an hour to full time, Monomotapa were showing signs of real footballing life which mostly left Dynamos at sixes and sevens. Charles Chiutsa began to harass the Dembare defence at will and he powered a thunderbolt in the 77th minute which Willard Manyatera in goal for the home side had to deal with in a difficult way. He managed to punch it away though.
The moment of glory arrived in
the 81st minute when the mercurial Charles Chiutsa spotted an onrushing Tendayi
Somanje and sent to him an inch-perfect cross to which the later responded with a
cheeky header beating Manyatera hands down. Dynamos were not finished yet. Edward
Sadomba had had a quiet game, but he rocketed a free kick which smashed the upright
post. This marked the end of the match which the Mapeza boys deserved to win under
all circumstances.
"Yogi" David Mandigora had nothing more to say but to concede defeat as a real
gentleman.
Emmanuel Magaisa
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