Dembare fails to win since the fall of Mugabe

Ngezi Platinum 1-0 Dynamos

NOT even the return of their head coach, Lloyd Mutasa, from national duty could inspire Dynamos as the fading Glamour Boys once again put on a lacklustre display and fell to their second defeat in three league matches in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League at Baobab yesterday.

Ngezi Platinum shot to the top of the table following their win, their third in as many matches, and they are yet to concede a goal.

Mutasa missed his team's dramatic 3-3 draw against Shabanie last Sunday when they gave away a 3-0 lead at Rufaro as he was away in Ndola, Zambia, with the Warriors for a Four-nation Invitational tournament.

Dynamos, who lost a corresponding fixture here in a violence-marred encounter, once again failed to contain their more determined opponents who duly grabbed the maximum points courtesy of Xolisani Moyo's 12th minute strike.

Yesterday's result means the Glamour Boys have failed to win in their first three matches after they fell 0-1 to Chicken Inn in their opening assignment in Bulawayo.

Though the marathon is still in its infancy, Mutasa admitted yesterday's loss was a major setback for his side.

As they have done in the previous games, DeMbare failed to clear a cross, swung in by Godknows Murwira, which Michael Charamba laid on for Moyo to beat Tonderai Mateyaunga.

Mateyaunga was reinstated in goal ahead of Blessing Mwandimutsira, who was punished for the three-goal leak in that match against Shabanie.

"We thought by conceding three goals against Shabanie, it was more to do with our defence being porous and we were working to rectify that as we thought our strikeforce was fine after scoring those three.

"Unfortunately, we failed to score.

"It is getting worrisome as you saw we once again failed to defend a high ball.

"I don't know, it is an area where we have to always work on. It was also a case of defenders drawing a lot into the box. We would want to win each and every game but unfortunately we failed to win this one," Mutasa.

Mutasa bemoaned the absence of star forward Christian Epoupa who continued with his boycott of matches in protest of his unpaid wages which amount to $16 000.

What probably disappointed Mutasa the most was that his team only managed a single shot on target despite dominating the second half.

"The reason why we still have Epoupa is because he is part of our plans and we would have wanted him to help us but then it is an administrative issue. We work with who is available for selection."

While Mutasa bemoaned a lack of cohesion by his charges, his Ngezi counterpart Tonderai Ndiraya, whose team dominated the first half, felt his charges should have won by a bigger margin had they been clinical in front of goal.

Although Dynamos found their way back into the match in the second half, especially after Mutasa's double substitution where he brought in Tawanda Macheke and Obey Mwerehari for the subdued duo of Kudzi Dhemere and Cleopas Kapupurika, they still failed to create clear-cut chances.

"It was an interesting match. We controlled the match, especially in the first half. We had planned that (to get a goal in the first half)," said Ndiraya.

"We travelled a very long distance from Chiredzi where we played Triangle over the weekend. So the plan was to attack in the first half and defend in the second stanza which we did perfectly well.

"I am happy for the boys but l feel we should have scored more goals as we created a lot of chances, especially in the first half.

"Dynamos played well in the second half but we defended quite well. I am quite happy with the solidity which my charges showed.

"It was a game of two halves, where we controlled the first while Dynamos dominated the second. What is more important is we managed to win."

The win took Ngezi to the top of the table on nine points while DeMbare are reeling at the lower end with just a single point from three starts.