Dembare drops 2 points

Dynamos  0 - 0 ZPC Kariba
DYNAMOS coach Lloyd Mutasa lamented the draw against his former mentor Sunday "Mhofu'' Chidzambwa's ZPC Kariba as two points dropped at home after the visitors forced a share of the spoils in a lukewarm Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Rufaro yesterday.

The Harare giants, who were coming from an identical goalless stalemate against How Mine in the mid-week matches, fired blanks again yesterday.

While the draw appeared a fair result for both sides, Mutasa mourned the few scoring opportunities that he felt his side could have utilised.

Returning midfielder Denver Mukamba had the best chance for the Glamour Boys, but his low shot came off the woodwork in the 39th minute before rookie forward King Nasama made a poor decision later in the game after his marker had lost balance on the edge of the box.

Veteran Limited Chikafa could also have punished the hosts soon after the half time break when he won a tussle for possession against centre-back Obey Mwerahari only to shoot wide of the target with the goal at his mercy.

Mutasa said Dynamos needed to maximise on home advantage to catch up with the leading teams in the Premiership race.

But after the weekend's action, the Harare giants remained fourth on the log standings with 25 points, five behind bitter rivals Highlanders who will go into the mid-season break as the log leaders after their triumph over CAPS United at Barbourfields.

"I think it's a matter of two points lost (playing) at home. We never created many scoring opportunities as well today but I think we had Denver Mukamba's effort and then King Nasama's decision in the last third wasn't good enough. So it's a matter of mourning two points lost. But we played an equally good side," said Mutasa.

Dynamos played fluent football in the initial stages of the game and they had threatened their opponents as early as the second minute when striker Kudzanai Nyakasaka won the tug of war with Sylvester Appiah for a loose ball but impressive goalkeeper Tendai Hove was well positioned to deal with the threat.

Hove, who was voted Castle Lager Premiership Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014 before becoming a victim of recurrent injuries last year, reminded the supporters that he is still high up in the game with a commanding performance between the posts.

The 39th minute stunning save which denied Mukamba a goal on his return to the Glamour Boys was probably the highlight of yesterday's game.

DeMbare had made a superb build-up, which also involved Nyakasaka and Mutuma and then Mukamba, after having done everything correctly inside the box, picked his spot at the bottom corner but Hove stretched full length to give the ball a touch which redirected it to the base of the upright post before the ZPC Kariba defenders cleared the lines. It was a great moment for Mukamba to shake off the rust before he was pulled out for newboy Simbarashe Gorogodyo later in the second half.

"Denver, having not played in a long time, I thought he had some tired legs but with time he will come to the party. But we appreciate his contributions in his first game," said Mutasa.

ZPC Kariba, who featured a number of veterans like Thomas Sweswe, Tawanda Munyanduri, Daniel Chakupe, Godknows Mangani, Limited Chikafa and Tineyi Chitora, also had their moments of dominance but could not create meaningful scoring opportunities.

Their coach Chidzambwa, however, was happy with the point despite having gone five games without tasting victory.

Chidzambwa also rued the inability to finish off the few scoring opportunities they had in the game.

"I am quite pleased with the point and I think in this game we defended well. But in these type of games you need to put away the half chances you get. There were very few chances on both sides but we had a chance or two which we should have put away," said Chidzambwa.

"Any team in football goes through a bad spell and I think we have hit a bad patch. We played well in the last two games. We played very well in the last game against Harare City and we were unlucky to lose the game," said Chidzambwa. But with his side gone five games without finding the back of the net, Chidzambwa has every reason to be a worried man as ZPC Kariba join the Premiership in the mid-season recess.

ZPC Kariba, however, remained unchanged on fifth position on the log standings with 22 points.

Teams:

Dynamos: T. Mukuruva, G. Murwira, C. Rusere, O. Mwerahari, S. Linyama, S. Alimenda, T. Chipunza, D. Mukamba (S. Gorogodyo, 64th minute), M. Mambare (D. Mukandi, 90th minute), R. Mutuma, K. Nyakasaka (K. Nasama, 64th minute)

ZPC Kariba: T. Hove, T. Munyanduri, D. Phiri, B. Mutukura, T. Sweswe, S. Appiah, T. Mamvura, N. Tigere (D. Chakupe, 78th minute), G. Mangani (P. Kabwe, 61st minute), T. Chitora, L. Chikafa (O. Mukuradare, 81st minute).