Denver’s double sees DeMbare beat Gunners

By Augustine Hwata

Gunners …………………………………..(1)

Dynamos ………………………………….(1) 3

Midfielder Denver Mukamba struck a brace while Roderick Mutuma weighed in with the other goal as resurgent Dynamos continued with their strong comeback into the Castle Lager Premiership title race at Lafarge yesterday.

Gunners had appeared to creep back into the game when Mitchell Katsvairo cancelled out Mukamba’s early effort before the half time break. The game had remained a cliffhanger for the packed Lafarge stadium until Mukamba scored his second of the day on a windy afternoon.

Mukamba thrust Dynamos into the lead when he finished off a corner kick that had been whipped into the box by veteran linkman Murape Murape in the 15th minute. The Gunners defence was caught off-guard and youth international Mukamba created himself some space to strike a low shot past goalkeeper Prosper Chigumba to bring joy to the blue army which had been expectant since the first minute.

But the youthful Gunners outfit did not give up as they battled to even the scores with an impressive display of football. And for their industry, Gunners were rewarded in the 39th minute when Katsvairo drilled the ball home from close range after Dynamos goalkeeper Washington Arubi had failed to deal with a free-kick delivered from the right.

The game continued to produce some mouth-watering action with Dynamos restoring their lead in the 50th minute when Mutuma scored a gift-wrapped goal. As Gunners were battling to go ahead, their defender Byron Madzokere foolishly failed to clear the ball from the box and Mutuma latched onto the offer to slice past Chigumba.

Instead of playing the ball to safety, Madzokere tried to be beat his marker, and in the process lost possession to the striker who advanced towards goal to fire past Chigumba. The goal clearly affected Gunners as the emotions among the players started running high over the soft goal.

Despite the set back there was still hope for another equaliser from Gunners but it was Dynamos who doubled their advantage through Mukamba in the 78th minute. Dynamos made an attacking throw-in on the left and the ball fell to Archieford Gutu who laid a square pass for Mukamba to make a clinical finish and killing all hopes that Gunners had of making a come-back.

It was Dynamos’ third win in as many matches under coach Callisto Pasuwa and there had been a lot of interest in the build up to yesterday’s showdown with a Gunners side that had gone on a seven-match unbeaten run since Moses Chunga returned to Chando Kupisa. Chunga rejoined Gunners in July this year and had every reason to be disappointed with the dent.

The win helped Dynamos to continue making a loud shout for the championship, especially after the top two teams Motor Action and FC Platinum played to draws at the weekend. Over the past two weeks, Dynamos have managed to pick six points and have reduced the gap between them and Motor Action to three points.

The Mighty Bulls have 42 points, the same as second-placed FC Platinum. Motor Action reclaimed top spot on goal goal difference despite a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe Saints at White City yesterday. Former log leaders FC Platinum had also dropped two crucial points by drawing 1-1 against Chicken Inn at Luveve 24 hours earlier.

In-fact, Dynamos were the only team in the top half of the league to register a victory in this weekend’s matches. Chunga said his charges gave away an easy goal that killed off their rhythm in the second half. “The scoreline is not a true reflection of the game we played today.

“People might look at the scoreline and think that we were overun but that was not the case. Our let down was that we let in soft goals, especially the second goal,” said Chunga. Chunga felt that his defender Madzokere could have avoided the costly blunder by playing the ball to safety. “Some of these youngsters got very excited and that cost us the game,” said Chunga.

However, Chunga believes Gunners will bounce back after this defeat. “Nobody has died and we will look at the defeat objectively,” said Chunga. But the day belonged, once again, to the new Dynamos coaching staff. Assistant coach Tonderayi Ndiraya was happy with Mukamba’s contribution and the three points.

“The guy has been playing well and he was working very hard at training. We just told him to keep working hard because more is yet to come from him,” said Ndiraya. Ndiraya also believes that Dynamos could have won by a wider margin if the players had been precise in front of goal. “We created a lot of chances in the first half by getting into the box but failed to score.

“But I am happy that the players have managed to take the other chances,” said Ndiraya. However, Ndiraya still refuses to install his side as title contenders. “We are taking it step by step.  As I said before, we are not pushing ourselves for the championship but will take each game as it comes and maybe we might get there,” said Ndiraya.

Teams:

Gunners

G. Chigova, M. Demera, B. Madzokere, C. Makuruva (I. Lawe), J. Dzingai, H. Zvirekwi, P. Bamusi (I. Lawe 76th min), C. Sekete, A. Sadiki (T. Dephistara 82nd min), L. Fiyado, M. Kunyarimwe

Dynamos:

W. Arubi, T. Magirombo, G. Magariro, M. Murape (N. Ziwini 84th min), M. Malajila, G. Zhokinyi, D. Mukamba (T. Mabvura 89th min), D. Benati (T. Mamvura 66th min), D. Chafa, A. Gutu, R. Mutuma.