Gwekwerere strikes to hand Dynamos victory

By Eddie Chikamhi

Shooting Stars……………….0 Dynamos ……………….(0) 2

Evans Gwekwerere turned saviour on Sunday when he grabbed a second half brace that helped Dynamos subdue battling Shooting Stars in a Premiership match at Gwanzura. Gwekwerere’s goals secured maximum points for the Glamour Boys after a lifeless first half devoid of creativity and clear chances on both ends of the goal.

This was Shooting Stars’ second de-feat under new coach Rodwell Dhla-kama, who was roped in to assist following the departure of Gishon Ntini. The Wild Boys have hit hard times financially, with the team mostly having seven players in training in the build-up to their games.

Last weekend, they fell by an identical margin to Black Mambas at Morris Depot. But yesterday Dhlakama’s charges seemed to put behind their financial woes and turned on a determined show and looked to be heading for a share of the spoils until the man DeMbare fans call Earthquake — Gwekwerere — struck to break their resistance.

In the end, the Dynamos fans broke into the “Gwekwerere bhora song’’ as they saluted their hero of the day for his fine brace. After a barren first half, title chasers Dynamos stepped up their act with two strikes within a space of 20 minutes to condemn the hosts into the relegation zone while ensuring that their own championship campaign remained on track.

Gwekwerere — who last saw the back of the nets in the 4-1 drubbing of Gunners in a Zaoga Cup semi-final tie at the beginning of the month — got the breakthrough on the one hour mark with a fine effort struck on the turn inside the box. The Earthquake was on target again 18 minutes later.

On both occasions, Shooting Stars defenders paid dearly for their loose marking after they allowed the DeM-bare striker to control the ball inside the penalty area and pick his spot before coolly placing it beyond the reach of diving goalkeeper Pedzisayi Gumire-mhete.

It was an ice-breaker that Elvis “Chuchu’’ Chiweshe’s men had wanted after a goalless first half as they started flocking forward in search of a second, which could have come about three minutes later but the hosts did well to clear for a corner in a goal-mouth melee.

But goalkeeper Gumiremhete felt Gwekwerere had fouled one of the defenders in the commotion and was booked for remonstrating with Gweru referee Sungano Makwangudze whom he blamed for “turning a blind eye on the incident’’. With both sides turning more physical in approach, Makwangudze struggled to keep pace and control the match and dished out four yellow cards for various offences.

Dynamos doubled their lead in the 78th minute when Gwekwerere released midfielder Desmond Maringwa on the right before rushing into space to meet a fine return from his captain and slide home the second. The victory helped DeMbare reduce the gap between them and pace setters Motor Action back to six points after Joey Antipas’ men beat Kiglon 1-0 on Saturday.

“I think this is a very good result for us. We started off slowly, but our boys showed their character in the second half.

“I am happy for Evans because it has been some time since he last scored. This brace should help bring back his confidence as a striker and with this kind of performance we should expect more from him in the remaining matches,” said assistant coach Tichaona Diya.

Dynamos are in second place with 43 points, six behind Motor Action but the Harare giants still have three games in hand over the Mighty Bulls. Despite the defeat, Shooting Stars — who remained on 13th place with 19 points from 21 games — managed to hold their nerve in the first 45 minutes in which they easily neutralised Dynamos raids.

Right back James Chitereki twice came close in the second half with long range efforts. His 68th minute volley could have helped the hosts draw level but it agonisingly came crashing against the crossbar with Washington Arubi a beaten man. Despite being two goals behind, the Wild Boys continued to fight and ensu-red a nervy end for Dynamos.

Chitereki’s drive from outside the box forced Arubi to make a crucial save in the 80th minute. Shooting Stars coach Dhlakama blamed defensive blunders for the defeat, but remained optimistic they will survive the chop.

“We played very well but we conceded goals in the second half because of defensive errors. They just took advantage of defensive lapses on those two moments and they scored.

“We lost the match but this is not the end of life for Shooting Stars. We need to pick ourselves up and start winning matches again realising that our position on the table is not pleasing. But there isn’t much in terms of points that separate the teams in the relegation zone. There is still everything to fight for because there are eight or so more games to play, which translates into 24 points on offer,” said Dhlakama.

The former Monomotapa and national Under-17 coach is also optimistic that despite yesterday’s set back, Shooting Stars will draw some positives from their performance against DeMbare and secure points in their next assignments.

Teams:

Shooting Stars: P. Gumiremhete, J. Chitereki, S. Munawa, F. Chidungwe, T. Sambo, C. Mutero, M. Muneri (K. Mawire, 59th minute), T. Masuku (S. Gadzikwa, 88th minute), L. Chikafa, E. Matsika, S. Sithole

Dynamos: W. Arubi, D. Kutyauripo, B. Tuwaya G. Zhokinyi, G. Magariro, M. Makopa, M. Murape (E. Mashiri 88th minute), B. Marere, Gwekwerere, I. Pitamuja (D. Maringwa, 57th minute), W. Sithole.