Dynamos to sign another goalie
TWO weeks after poaching talented goalkeeper Tatenda Makoni from relegated Cranborne Bullets, giants Dynamos look set to sign yet another goalminder.
Ex-Bulawayo Chiefs goalie Issah Ali is training with the Glamour Boys amid indications he will be reuniting with coach Genesis “Kaka” Mangombe at DeMbare.
The big goalkeeper once worked under Mangombe during his time at Yadah.
They only separated last season when Mangombe was appointed as the secondin-charge to Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa at Dynamos and Ali packed his bags to be with Bulawayo Chiefs.
But the two are heading for a reunion at Dynamos where Mangombe is making carefully considered signings.
With Makoni joining the pair of Frank Kuchineyi and Prince Tafiremutsa in the former giants’ goalkeeping department, the impending arrival of Ali is being seen as a statement of intent by Mangombe going into the 2024 season.
This department lost veteran Tymon Mvula to free spending Simba Bhora early this month prompting Dynamos to go into the market.
But there will only be three goalkeepers at the club meaning one of the three, who are already in their books, will be loaned out to pave the way for Ali.
And insiders yesterday told Zimpapers Sports that there are plans to send Kuchineyi to newboys Chegutu Pirates on loan.
“As a team, we value every player in the
DYNAMOS vice chairman Vincent Chawonza says their head coach Genesis “Kaka”Mangombe deserves to be given full support ahead of the new season for him to reach his full potential.
Mangombe was appointed on an interim basis after the club separated ways with Herbert Maruwa but the club has not yet officially confirmed him as the substantive coach despite selecting the squad for the 2024 season.
He led the Glamour Boys to their first Chibuku Super Cup Trophy, beating league champions Ngezi Platinum 2-1 in the final at Baobab Stadium last month.
Now the club is shifting focus to winning their first league title in a decade and making a strong statement in the African Safari.
“Mangombe is the guy trusted to lead the team on the bench. As the head coach, a lot is expected from him week in and week out. We do not doubt his capabilities as he has already shown what he is capable of doing and we believe
team. But Kuchineyi has spent the past two seasons without playing and he is to be loaned to Chegutu Pirates where he could get game time,” said the source.
“Remember Chegutu Pirates lost their goalkeeper Tendai Chirara to GreenFuel and they want Kuchineyi”.
Mangombe said Ali is still under assessment but he will be a valuable addition to he can still do more at Dynamos,” said Chawonza.
“As much is required from him by the club’s stakeholders, we all agree that results are the major driving factor. Every coach at Dynamos, whether black or white, is always expected to deliver but now as the executive, we have to come in and play our role as the coach needs full support for him to operate at his best.
“As a club, we need to create a good working environment for the coach and the whole squad. There are no short-cuts to success and we need to work on that.
“The coach and the team need all the support from everyone, who wholeheartedly loves the club. I am quite sure the club is improving a lot of things slowly and we will keep on implementing culture changes that we feel will make the club great.
“There are no two ways if anything good is to be born at the club. Professionalism is always the key and the major driving factor,” he said.
the Glamour Boys’ goalkeeping department. “I know Issah Ali very well having worked with him for sometime when I was still at Yadah.
“He is a complete goalkeeper who can give you all you can ask from someone who plays in that position,” said Mangombe.
“He stop shots, distribute the ball well and his aerial ability is top-notch.
“He can also command his area well and is good with his feet.
“If all goes well, I will be ready to have him in the team because I know what he is capable of bringing.
“We will then see how we can shuffle around the department because we already have three good goalkeepers in the team.
“Basically, we are trying to build a team that is capable of competing in the Premiership and other tournaments including the CAF Confederation Cup”.
It will be interesting to see how Mangombe will deploy his goalkeepers with each of them considered good enough to warrant a starting berth.
Dynamos have made some key signings this pre-season window, bringing in the likes of Temptation Chiwunga, Makoni, Tinotenda Makwinja, Nomore Chinyerere, Namibian Sydney Uri Khob, Blessing Dziwo, Frederick Ansah Botchway from Ghana and Freddy Lyndon Alick.
They will start their season with two competitive matches, first facing off against CAPS United in the proposed Harare Mayor Cheer Fund Cup at Rufaro on February 11 before they engage Ngezi Platinum Stars in the Castle Challenge Cup at Baobab a fortnight later.
The Castle Challenge Cup is contested for by the league champions and winners of the premium knock-out tournament-the Chibuku Super Cup.
Ngezi Platinum Stars won the championship for the first time since their promotion in 2016 while DeMbare beat them to the Chibuku Super Cup title in an absorbing final at Baobab.
JUST a day before they meet in a crunch 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup encounter, the future stars of Zimbabwe and Australia took time off the field to conduct a coaching clinic in Kimberly, South Africa yesterday.
The Young Chevrons and Australia conducted the coaching clinic with young children from around the area. The clinic took place at the Kimberly Oval, venue for today’s World Cup clash.
Yesterday’s initiative is part of the ICC Cricket for Good programme.
Cricket for Good was created as the ICC’s global community outreach programme aimed at leveraging the vast power and reach of cricket to positively impact the lives of children and families worldwide.
Following their great initiative, the Young Chevrons and Australia are set to face off today at the same venue for their World Cup Group C encounter.
Today’s match is scheduled to start at 10am.
It will, however, be a tricky encounter for the Zimbabwean youngsters who will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways after a bad start to their campaign.
Zimbabwe Under-19s lost their opening match of the World Cup against Sri Lanka by 39 runs (D/L Method) on Sunday while Australia edged Namibia by four wickets and are sitting second in the group behind Sri Lanka, who routed Namibia for their second win.
The Young Chevrons are in third place separated by net-run rate from Namibia.
Both teams would be hoping for a win which will boost their standing, however, the Young Chevrons will be the hungrier as they cannot afford to lose two out of two.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers were outstanding with ball in hand in the first match, led by Kohl Eksteen, the skipper Mathew Schonken and Newman Nyamhuri.
There will be a bit of pressure on the Young Chevrons’ batting unit to come good despite the wickets in the tournament thus far proving a nightmare for batters. Low scores have been recorded in most of the matches that have been played. Zimbabwe, however, has good batters who will have to come good and navigate the Aussie bowlers.
Some of the batters who will be crucial in today’s game include Campbell Macmillan, Ronak Patel, Ryan Kamwemba, Panashe Taruvinga and Schonken, who has been handy with the bat in most games.
Australia Under-19s enjoy a good record over the Young Chevrons in their last five meetings, winning four matches and Zimbabwe will be hoping to re-write history and get one over their opponents for the first time since 2004. Their latest meeting was in 2018 and Zimbabwe Under-19s lost by seven wickets.
A win for Zimbabwe today will go a long way in their quest to better their finish from the previous edition in 2022. After today’s game, the Prosper Utseya coached Young Chevrons will face Namibia in their last group game on Saturday.
Five time winners of the coveted silverware and defending champions India are placed in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland and the United States of America as they attempt to claim a record sixth Under-19 title.
Group B consists of South Africa, England, West Indies and Scotland, while Group D is made up of Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal.
The top three sides from each group progress to the Super Six phase of the event ahead of the semi-finals and final in Benoni.