DeMbare choke yet again

Shabanie Mine….. (0) (1) Dynamos………… (1) (1)

FOR the Dynamos family, this felt like two points lost than a point gained and the pain and anger on Lloyd Mutasa’s face at the end of this Castle Lager Premiership battle at Maglas told the whole story.

Handed the chance to open a threepoint lead at the top of the table by a favourable sequence of results on Wednesday, DeMbare, as they have often done in the last few weeks, crumbled under the weight of pressure.

Instead, they left this mining town with just a point, instead of three, and it could be a defining result in this championship race.

Skipper Ocean Mushure, the Glamour Boys’ brightest light in the absence of the league’s leading scorer Christian Epoupa Ntouba, had given the visitors the lead through a trademark free-kick in the fifth minute.

A bit of homework on the opponent would have informed Shabanie that in the absence of Ntouba, Dynamos’ potency rested in the left boot of their skipper Mushure, especially from dead balls.

And, the hosts were punished by a player whose star has been shining brightly all season.

But moments before the final whistle, Maglas erupted when the Mupasiri brothers, Farai and Wilson, combined for the equaliser.

In a round of fixtures in which their title rivals FC Platinum and Chicken Inn caught a cold, a victory would have seen than them and I think we could have collected maximum points at the end of the day. The guys refused to throw in the towel after they had conceded early and I am very happy with our fighting spirit.

“Before the game I told the guys not to be intimidated by Dynamos because we are in the same league, their response was very encouraging and I am confident with this kind of performance we can survive relegation.’

Castle Lager Premiership Results Yesterday Harare City 1, Chapungu 0; Shabanie Mine 1, Dynamos 1; Highlanders 0, Bantu Rovers 0

Wednesday

CAPS Utd 1, Chicken Inn 0; ZPC Kariba 0, Ngezi Platinum 2; Yadah 0, FC Platinum 0; How Mine 2, Triangle 1; Hwange 0, Black Rhino 2; Bulawayo City 0, Tsholotsho 2 Week 26 log standings P W D L F A Pts 26 16 5 5 44 19 53 26 16 4 6 46 25 52 26 14 10 2 27 12 52 26 16 3 7 28 13 51 25 11 8 6 34 25 41 26 11 7 8 24 26 40 26 11 6 9 26 23 39 26 10 6 10 28 22 36 26 9 8 9 27 27 35 25 9 7 9 21 23 34 26 9 5 12 29 34 32 26 8 7 11 20 20 31 26 8 7 11 22 30 31 26 7 9 10 15 22 30 26 6 9 11 17 26 27 26 6 5 15 21 34 23 26 3 10 13 16 34 19

26 3 4 19 22 52 13 Dynamos Ngezi Platinum Platinum Chicken Inn CAPS United How Mine ZPC Kariba Black Rhinos Triangle Utd Highlanders Bulawayo City Harare City Yadah Chapungu Shabanie Hwange Tsholotsho BantuRovers