NERVY STARTED FOR LAST SEASON’S TOP 3
IT’S been a nervy start for last season’s Castle Lager Premiership top three clubs who have failed to register a win in their first two assignments.
Last season, Ngezi Platinum Stars, Manica Diamonds, and Dynamos walked away with the league’s gold, silver, and bronze medals.
The three clubs then went onto the market to boost their squads ahead of the 2024 season with the primary goal of winning this year’s title.
Last season’s champions Ngezi Platinum and third-placed Dynamos have managed a point from the opening two matches.
Takesure Chiragwi’s Ngezi are still to find the target, after two attempts, and the striker they had banked on for goals, Obriel Chirinda, has been a spectator ever since moving from Bulawayo Chiefs due to an ownership wrangle pitting Dynamos.
Alarm bells are already ringing at the Glamour Boys who also lost the Castle Challenge Cup to Ngezi Platinum in what has been a miserable start to the season that promised a lot.
Already there are calls for coach Genesis Mangombe
to leave, barely two months into a substantive contract at DeMbare.
What makes the situation bad is Dynamos had managed six points from their opening two matches, without conceding a goal last season, including a 1-0 win at Hwange who forced a 2-2 draw at Barbourfields last Sunday.
At this stage last season, Dynamos had scored five goals without conceding a goal and now they are five points worse off, scored two goals less and conceded four goals more.
One has to go back to 2018 for the other time they failed to win at least one of their opening two matches as they lost at Chicken Inn in the first game and then drew 3-3 at home to Shabanie Mine - they went on to finish 11th. Manica Diamonds, who celebrated the return of Sakubva, have had the worst start of last season’s top three after losing both matches and conceding six goals in the process three apiece against Simba Bhora and TelOne.
And, it’s fair to say these struggling teams have been rescued by the international break as they will take this chance to review where they have been coming short.