Dynamos edge Hwange in BancABC Cup
By Eddie Chikamhi
Dynamos ……… (0) 1 Hwange…….…………. 0
A solitary strike by half-time substitute Francis Mandiwanzira was all Dynamos needed to dump Hwange out of the BancABC Cup competition in a lacklustre quarter-final soccer match at Rufaro yesterday.
Mandiwanzira, who rarely gets his name on the Dynamos scoresheet, was the surprise saviour of the Glamour Boys when his 77th minute strike eluded Hwange goalkeeper Timothy Sibanda.
Dynamos will now meet old rivals Highlanders in the semi-finals at Barbourfields on August 22. Highlanders beat Monomotapa 1-0 last week to book a place in the last four. The Dynamos technical team was excited with yesterday’s narrow victory.
Assistant coach Tichaona Diya was, however, not amused by the team’s lifeless performance in the first half in which veteran midfielder Desmond Maringwa seemed to fight a lone battle. Diya said they were looking beyond yesterday’s victory.
“We played according to plan and I think the plan worked well. The most important thing is we won and we are happy about that. As you know we have very important Champions League matches ahead of us so we were also using this match to perfect some of our techniques like the 4-5-1 formation we used today,” he said.
Hwange caretaker coach Brian Njovu praised his charges for putting a spirited show despite losing the match.
“We lost the match but I am pleased with our overall performance. We had a good show but the only problem was that we were not very ambitious in front of goal.
“I think we did not have enough punch and Dynamos were lucky they got a soft goal and they won the match,” said Njovu, who is standing in for head coach Tenant Chilumba, currently in the Netherlands for a Uefa coaching course.
The match had seemed to follow fashion and head for a goalless draw after two other quarter-final ties in the same competition ended in stalemate, but it seemed fortune favoured Dynamos yesterday as both sides looked blunt in front of goal.
Mandiwanzira, who was thrown into the fray by coach Elvis Chiweshe as replacement for injured Evans Gwekwerere, broke the deadlock 13 minutes from full-time.
He received the ball on the edge of the penalty box and released a high ball that the visitors’ goalminder Sibanda failed to deal with. Sibanda nonetheless had a good day, making some crucial saves that kept his team in the game and was voted man-of-the-match for his exceptional saves.
The Hwange goalkeeper made a low dive in the 37th minute to deny Nicholas Alufandika when the Dynamos midfielder had found himself at the end of a flick from Gwekwerere inside the box and fired first time from close range.
Both teams could not create clear chances in front of goal, but Dynamos had their first attempt in the 22nd minute when Gwekwerere made a good run on the left flank and released a screamer that narrowly missed the target.
Hwange fought pound-for-pound in the middle of the park with Ocean Mpofu and Simbarashe Jongwe taking the initiative, but striker Rodwell Chinyengetere was not given any space to manoeuvre by the Dynamos central defensive pair of Guthrie Zhokinyu and George Magariro. The visitors won a free-kick on the edge of the box towards the end of the first half but Milos Phiri’s shot came off the wall.
Goalkeeper Sibanda made another crucial save in the 69th minute when the handful of Dynamos supporters that attended the match yesterday had risen from their seats in anticipation of a goal. Mashiri had received a through pass from Maringwa and turned his marker before shooting inside the penalty box, but the Hwange goalkeeper was equal to the task.
Teams
Dynamos: W. Arubi, D. Kutyauripo, B. Tuwaya, G. Zhokinyu, G. Magariro, A. Rambanepasi, D. Maringwa (A. Mbara 88th minute), E. Mashiri, T. Mamvura, N. Alufandika (D. Chivandire 70th minute), E. Gwekwerere (F. Mandiwanzira 46th minute).
Hwange: T. Sibanda, M. Phiri, J. Kapenya, D. Boriwondo, G. Ndlovu, A. Nyoni (G. Zulu 82nd minute) S. Njeleza (F. Ncube), S. Jongwe, A. Chuma, O. Mpofu (N. Tshuma 86th minute), R. Chinyengetere.
