Pakamisa strikes again for DeMbare

By Eddie Chikamhi

Dynamos……………………..…………… (1) 2

Hwange…………………….…………………. 0

HARARE – Washington Pakamisa continued with his scoring form on Sunday when he grabbed his sixth goal of season to help champions Dynamos subdue Hwange in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Rufaro Stadium in the capital.

The stocky forward, who has experienced an incredible renaissance in the last two weeks following a sluggish start at his new home after crossing the Great Divide from arch-rivals CAPS United at the beginning of the season, put Dynamos ahead when he got to the end of a square pass by captain Tawanda Muparati just five minutes into the game.

Second half substitute Farai Mupasiri then sealed the game with a hotly disputed goal in the 72nd minute which the Hwange players and officials felt was against the spirit of Fair Play.

But all the fuss surrounding the second goal aside, DeMbare were on top for most of the time and their coach Callisto Pasuwa said they deserved to walk away with maximum points.

Pasuwa has been worried by his side’s lack of consistency in winning games this season and yesterday’s victory which was their third in nine starts, was warmly received by the coach and the supporters alike.

“We wanted consistency in the team and I am happy for the boys because they managed to collect those three points which we wanted most,” said Pasuwa.

Dynamos showed determination from the start as they pegged their opponents back into their own half and were rewarded early on from a good build up that started from the middle.

Hwange defended badly and a good delivery from Muparati found Pakamisa well-positioned on the edge of the box and the former CAPS United striker nicely placed the ball beyond the reach of experienced goalkeeper Timothy Sibanda.

The goal sent the predominantly DeMbare crowd into a frenzy.

Dynamos skipper Murape Murape, suspended for this match for accumulating three yellow cards chose to be the with the fans and led the way in mobilising the support from the vociferous “Vietnam” stand.

Pakamisa could have doubled his tally in the 29th minute when a poor clearance by Hwange defender Erick Chipeta landed graciously at his feet but this time he found Sibanda uncompromising.

Hwange appeared to pay the price for skipping their pre-match warm up as they took too long to come out of their blocks. They were forced to do most of the defending as DeMbare piled pressure in search of a surety.

The Glamour Boys won a free-kick on the right flank 23 minutes into the game and Russell Madamombe, who had a good game in the first half counted himself unlucky as his brilliant curling effort took a deflection off the wall.

Soon afterwards Ugandan Boban Zirintusa found himself in a good position, but could not control the ball on the run. Madamombe then made a spirited chase and managed to keep the ball in play before Hwange cleared their lines.

DeMbare were still camped in the opposition territory and fullback Ocean Mushure unleashed a powerful shot after being set by Muparati but his effort was blocked by the Hwange defenders in a crowded box.

The home team, however, could have been punished from the subsequent counter attack and Muparati had to use foul means to stop Farayi Vimisayi and earned himself a caution from the referee.

Vimisayi was a constant threat against his former team and in the 33rd minute he forced a good save from goalkeeper George Chigova with a long range effort.

With Hwange raising their tempo in the second half, Vimisayi tried to make a way into the box in the 68th minute but Dynamos defender Partson Jaure made a timely interception although he injured himself in the process.

But DeMbare killed off the game when Mupasiri received the ball from Zirintusa from a restart after referee Philani Ncube had stopped the match to allow an injured Dynamos player to be attended to.

Hwange players angrily protested against the goal as they felt DeMbare should have exhibited principles of Fair Play by playing the ball back to them since the match was stopped when the visitors had possession.

With Hwange on the backfoot, DeMbare still had enough time to miss two good opportunities when Pakamisa failed to do justice to a cross by Mupasiri in the 88th minute while substitute Abel Gwatidzo also crashed his effort against the woodwork after ghosting in from the blind side.

Pasuwa was happy that his strikeforce, which has been struggling to get the goals, “is now getting into scoring positions’’. Clive Kawinga, who replaced Zirintusa late in the second half also fluffed a good opportunity when he beat his marker, only to shoot weakly at the goalkeeper.

“I think, like I have been said before, the strikers are there but it’s only the precision in front of goal and confidence that was lacking. But if you can see the way he (Pakamisa) is getting into those scoring positions and the technique of taking the ball into the back of the nets is marvellous. We need to keep supporting him and give him confidence,” said Pasuwa.

Yesterday’s win, however, just took DeMbare a place up the ladder to sixth with 15 points. But more importantly for them, they are now trailing log leaders Highlanders, who drew 0-0 with FC Platinum, by five points.

Pasuwa was not inclined to discuss the second goal in yesterday’s match but his opposite number — Nation Dube — was clearly not happy with Dynamos’ conduct, although he felt his team could have done better.

“We defended badly, we started badly but I think the referee had to intervene as the second goal killed the game as a contest because that’s when my boys had raised the tempo of the game,” said Dube. The Herald

Teams:

Dynamos: G. Chigova, M. Kadzola, O. Mushure, G. Bello, P. Jaure, D. Chafa (A. Gwatidzo, 79th minute), T. Magorimbo, B. Zirintusa (C. Kawinga, 73rd minute), T. Muparati, R. Madamombe (F. Mupasiri, 60th minute), W. Pakamisa

Hwange: T. Sibanda, E. Chipeta, C. Banda, G. Ndlovu, D. Boriwondo, A. Chuma, T. Chese (E. Halungu, 77th minute), P. Mpelele (N. Siwela, 56th minute), I. Masame, G. Zulu, F. Vimisayi.