By Eddie Chikamhi
Dynamos caretaker coach Lloyd Chigowe insists the Glamour Boys, who have been walking with a spring in their step following a good run of form under his charge, need to be pragmatic ahead of back-to-back league and cup clashes with Triangle.
The giants’ fine run in the league faces a stern test against the Sugar Sugar Boys tomorrow in a Chibuku Super Cup semi-final clash at Rufaro before meeting again at the same venue a few days later in the league.
DeMbare are seeking a consolation silverware following a tough season in which they had to fight for their lives in relegation battles.
But three successive wins in their recent outings have all but taken the Glamour Boys to a position of safety. Chigowe has been credited as the mastermind of the revival together with his assistant Murape Murape after taking over the troubled team from Lloyd Mutasa last month.
Despite the excitement in their camp following the midweek wins by both sides, Chigowe, who had promised DeMbare fans “beautiful football” in the remaining matches of the season, feels the back-to-back matches against Triangle could be a headache for the Glamour Boys.
“Triangle are tough opponents. Our suspicion is that they reserved their best during the midweek games because they are already safe, they are not facing relegation, they can afford to play in the first gear and we are forced all the time to play at the highest level.
“But we will give it our best shot because this is our only chance to gain some glory in 2018. The trick is I had not realised that it’s Triangle and then Triangle. We have to be a bit more pragmatic but probably yes we will bring in some beauty going forward,” said Chigowe.
Dynamos reached the semi-finals of the tournament via a penalty shoot-out victory over Herentals in the quarter-finals. They had beaten Bulawayo Chiefs 1-0 in the first round.
Their opponents, Triangle, thrashed newboys Nichrut 5-1 to reach the last four. Their coach Taurayi Mangwiro believes they have been building momentum in the knock-out tournament and are not worried by DeMbare’s recent form.
Triangle, who won the NetOne One Wallet Cup four years ago when they, ironically, beat Dynamos in the final, are looking for their second silverware in the topflight.
Mangwiro himself knows what it means winning the Chibuku Super Cup, having lifted it with Harare City in 2015. Probably his main worry could be that Triangle have been largely inconsistent this year.
“This is one game that we would like to do well, go all the way to the final and then see what happens from there. “But this game is coming at a time that Dynamos have been coming up to their feet, which makes it an exciting meeting.
“But in all frankness this is not the Dynamos of old. Obviously we will respect them on account of their past achievements but we have already beaten these guys once in the league this year and hopefully we will be able to transform the league performance to this cup game.
“Our players are all aware of the task ahead and we are always reminding them of the importance of winning silverware; that it helps shape their careers.
“There is always pride at the stake and the extra motivation that comes with the monetary rewards and the ticket to represent the country in the CAF tournament. As a team we would want to be there as well.
“We feel we haven’t done as much as we would have liked in the league. We feel we should have been up there, having a say in the destiny of the championship but we have been inconsistent,” said Mangwiro.
Chibuku Fixtures
Today
Harare City v CAPS United (Rufaro)
Tomorrow
Dynamos v Triangle (Rufaro). The Herald.
