DeMbare focus on survival

By Eddie Chikamhi

Dynamos interim coach Lloyd Chigowe says the struggling giants have targeted Chibuku Super Cup for solace this year, but the silverware will not mean anything if they fail to survive relegation.

The Glamour Boys were drawn to play newboys Herentals in the quarter-finals at Rufaro this Sunday.

The Chibuku Super Cup represents their only hope of finishing with silverware following a largely miserable season in the league championship.

Chigowe, who was roped in last week along with former club captain Murape Murape to save the ship from sinking, yesterday told The Herald that they are worried more by the need to survive the chop and would not let the knockout tournament distract them.

“Obviously this is a tournament we would want to progress and probably win. But we must not lose focus of the real business, which is to survive relegation. We have to avoid the chop at all costs.

“It’s not a secret the club is in a difficult position on the log standings. So this tournament is a plus for us to infuse the philosophy that we want these boys to follow in the remaining games of the season.

“We are working very hard to bring back the morale in the side because these guys had been seriously affected by the bad experiences they went through this season.

“It’s not usual for a club like Dynamos to be fighting for survival. We are also hoping to give the opportunity to other players who have not been playing, if they prove at training that they are capable of leading us to glory.

“Hopefully our performance in the Chibuku Cup will help bring cheer to the team and to our long-suffering supporters.

“Otherwise, this is a good draw for everyone. Herentals may be a new team, but they have proved over time that they can be competitive. So we are going to treat them as such,” said Chigowe.

The former Young Warriors coach watched in disappointment on his first assignment last week as the Glamour Boys fell 2-0 at champions FC Platinum, a result that sent them deeper into the relegation mix.

They are currently among the four teams in the drop zone. But they started the Chibuku Cup on a positive footing when they beat Bulawayo Chiefs 1-0 courtesy of a goal by Tawanda Macheke in the first round at Rufaro two weeks ago.

The Glamour Boys have not won the tournament since it was relaunched four years ago. They perished in the first round last year, but their best performance was when they reached the final and lost to Harare City in 2015.

“The boys are really looking forward to this tournament. Everyone knows what is at the stake. The good thing is that most of our players who were injured are up and running. But we will still need to look at Brett Amidu and Cleopas Kapupurika who picked up knocks at Mandava,” said Chigowe.

Chigowe hinted that they would not want to walk the same road that defending champions Harare City travelled last year when they went all the way to win the tournament and yet failed to survive relegation.

City, however, will be defending their title in the top-flight after taking over the franchise of collapsed Bulawayo side How Mine.

They play Highlanders at Rufaro on Saturday while Chapungu and CAPS United tussle at Ascot in the other semi-final. Dark horses Triangle will host newboys Nichrut at Gibbo.

Chibuku Quarter-final Fixtures:

Saturday: Harare City v Highlanders (Rufaro), Chapungu v CAPS United (Ascot)

Sunday: Dynamos v Herentals (Rufaro), Triangle v Nichrut (Gibbo)  The Herald