Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. HIGHLANDERS………..(1)1
DYNAMOS……………….(1)1
A
CAPACITY crowd, two first-half goals, two efforts striking the woodwork in the second half, and friendly conversations on the field of play from both sets of players after the game summed up the exciting Zimbabwe derby at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday afternoon.
With both teams fighting relegation, the stakes were high for the giants of Zimbabwean football as they continued their battle for survival. The match could have gone either way as there was nothing much to separate the two teams after 90 minutes of action.
Dynamos coach Kelvin Kaindu’s move to the blue half of the country after being sacked by Highlanders spiced up the afternoon. Contrary to what was expected to be a hostile reception for him, it was a different story as Bosso fans cheered on their team more than targeting their former gaffer.
The game was a balanced affair early on before Highlanders drew first blood. Never Rauzhi was fouled in Dynamos’ half, and Andrew Mbeba delivered a trademark looping cross that was connected by the boot of Brian Mlotshwa, albeit with a minimal touch which all the same changed the trajectory of the ball after 17 minutes.
It was Mlotshwa’s first top-flight goal.
From there on, Dynamos took the game to Bosso and almost equalised from a free-kick of their own, but Issaka Mohammed’s header went off the mark from Abel Gwatidzo’s delivery after 22 minutes.
Jairos Kasondo then sent the Mpilo End into raptures with a deflected effort off Melikhaya Ncube, which beat Ariel Sibanda, who had dived the other way. This was after Dynamos had exchanged some good passes in midfield after 38 minutes.
Dynamos went to the break on the ascendancy, with Tellmore Pio skinning Ndlovu on the left side before delivering a tantalising cross that Kasondo headed home, but Sibanda kept it out right on the line a few minutes before halftime.
The two teams went to the break tied 1-1.
The second half dropped a bit in terms of tempo as both teams appeared content with holding back and waiting for a mistake from the opponent.
However, with a quarter of an hour remaining, both teams struck the woodwork. First, it was the marauding Kasondo who hit the woodwork after turning inside the box before attempting to beat Sibanda on the near post.
Next, it was substitute Reason Sibanda, who appeared to fluff his lines, but his effort cannoned off the crossbar face-to-face with Tendai Makoni, who had replaced Prince Tafiremutsa in goals for Dynamos.
Tafiremutsa was injured attempting to thwart a back header that almost resulted in an own goal, pushing the ball out for a corner shortly after the resumption of the second half.
Kaindu bemoaned the missed opportunities that could have won them the game.
“A point for us is better. Before we played today, we had dropped into the relegation zone, but a point pushes us away. We could have opted for three points. We had two big chances towards the end of the game, and with a bit of luck, we could have come out with maximum points. A point away from home is better for us.”
Highlanders coach Hendrikus Pieter De Jongh chose to focus on the positives of collecting a point from the encounter.
“I think it’s a fair result. I’m content with a point. We are two points ahead of Dynamos. My job here is to survive. I think we need 39 points, and we now need three points after what happened today.”
Teams
Highlanders: A Sibanda (gk), A Ndlovu, B Mlotshwa, M Ncube, M Sibanda (T Muvuti, 80mins), A Mbeba, M Mushore (D Munkuli, 68mins), N Rauzhi (R Sibanda, 68mins), L Mutumbi, B Adeogun (B Ncube, 80mins), A Nyondo (P Ndlovu, 80mins)
Dynamos: P Tafiremutsa (T Makoni, gk, 65mins), E Jalai, A Gwatidzo, C Mandivei, I Mohammed, T Pio, R Ngwenya (E Perezo, 61mins), S Nyahwa, W Mtasa (T Chiwunga, 46mins), J Kasondo (F Agyemang, 75mins), L Mavunga (D Mukamba, 75mins)
Results
Caps United 1 – 0 Manica Diamonds
Triangle United 0 – 1 Chicken Inn
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
