‘Denver not going anywhere’

By Eddie Chikamhi

Giants Dynamos are contemplating a two-year contract for midfielder Denver Mukamba whose deal with the Harare giants came to an end at the weekend.

Mukamba had signed a one-year contract upon his return from South Africa last year. However, the Glamour Boys are not comfortable with short-term deals and would want to have all their new signings to sign two-year contracts.

The club posted a brief statement on their website indicating that Mukamba will this morning sign a new deal for two years. “Dynamos Football Club wishes to announce to our fans and corporate sponsors that the club has agreed terms with Denver Mukamba and he is expected to pen a two-year deal with the club on Tuesday morning,” said the statement.

DeMbare secretary-general Webster Marechera could not discuss the progress they have made with the player. Mukamba’s manager, Gibson Mahachi, yesterday confirmed that the midfielder will remain at DeMbare.

The former Zimbabwe international made a slow start this year with concerns over his match fitness, but he has since recovered and has so far scored four goals in the league.

“Like I said before, we were still waiting for them. But I am sure he is staying at Dynamos. Denver is Dynamos through and through. If I may ask you, where else in Zimbabwe can this boy play at if he is to leave Dynamos?

“There are certain players that are made for certain teams. Denver is himself when he is playing for Dynamos. I am sure he can perform to his best at Dynamos. There is no need to change clubs for the sake of changing,” said Mahachi.

The Glamour Boys assistant coach Biggie Zuze said Mukamba was priceless in their set-up. “You can see he is our engine room and whenever he stops playing the team also stops functioning. I think the technical team worked very hard on him because his level of fitness wasn’t that good, but now you can see that he can last the distance.

“He is also chipping in with goals and has provided assists for other players upfront,” said Zuze. DeMbare temporarily took control of the race with a win which put them on 29 points.

But rivals Ngezi Platinum regained their place at the summit the following day after a 2-1 victory over FC Platinum in the Platinum derby at Baobab.

Goals from Donald Teguru and Tatenda Mchisa ended a winless spell that had stretched four games for the Mhondoro side while they handed FC Platinum their first defeat of the season.

Brett Amidu got the consolation for Norman Mapeza’s men, who had not tasted defeat in 15 starts.

Tonderai Ndiraya’s Ngezi Platinum now lead the title race with 31 points while FC Platinum retreated to sixth place on 26 points.

“What a way to end that bad spell with a win against FC Platinum, a very good Platinum side at that. We knew these guys were very good offensively, especially when moving the ball around and had to come up with a game plan,” said Ndiraya.

Third-placed Black Rhinos had to settle for a point in the 1-1 draw away at ZPC Kariba, but are still within reach at the congested top of the table.

Bantu Rovers are struggling with the loss to Dynamos being their 12th this season. But assistant coach Joseph Sibindi said apart from the poor results, the Bulawayo side is on course with their objectives to expose young players to the big stage.

“I don’t think we are going wrong anywhere. We are very all right because in terms of what we want to achieve, our process goals, we are not recycling players.

“Rather we are grooming players. As you saw in that squad most of those boys are youngsters, but look at how they played against experienced guys,’’ said Sibindi. The Herald