Raymond Jaravaza
IRKED by the coach’s failure to maintain pole position until the final stretch, some disgruntled voices have been calling for the axing of Tonderayi Ndiraya but the Dynamos hierarchy says he is not going anywhere.
Dynamos lost pole position in the Premier Soccer League title race to FC Platinum mid-season and have played second fiddle to the champions-in-waiting for the better part of the 2022 campaign.
Sections of the DeMbare supporters have been calling for Ndiraya’s head, calls that the club bosses say are unjustified.
Club chairman Isaiah Mupfurutsa said the executive was fully behind the coach.
“The team is doing well and we see no reason to even start talking about firing our coaches; the season is still in progress and we are fully behind the technical team.
“We will sit down at the end of the season to evaluate the team’s performances and determine whether or not we reached the targets that we set at the beginning of the year,” said Mupfurutsa.
The National Sports Stadium will be the centre of attention this Sunday when Ndiraya’s Dynamos face Highlanders in the much anticipated second league meeting of the old foes. The last time the two giants met at Barbourfields Stadium back in May, the match was abandoned after both sets of supporters stormed into the pitch.
Bosso were awarded three points on a 3-0 score line and both teams were slapped with heavy fines.
Things have changed drastically since the abandoned contest.
In May, Dynamos were sitting at the top of the Premier Soccer League table but things took a turn for the worst when the team lost momentum and allowed FC Platinum to overtake them at the summit of the log table.
Bosso on the other hand, were under the guidance of Mandla ‘Lulu’ Mpofu when the two sides last met.
He was shown the door a few weeks later and was replaced by Portuguese mentor Baltemar Brito.
Brito has overseen a massive revival at Bosso, with the club now aiming for a top four finish.
The Portuguese gaffer’s assistant Joey Luphahla is confident Bosso will collect maximum points against DeMbare, who are still licking wounds after their 0-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Bulawayo City last Saturday.
“Bosso versus Dynamos matches are always very difficult. We cannot go by form but it is a boost to the players to give self-belief that when we go to Harare we are capable of getting the three points that we want. It is going to be a massive game but I expect us to go there and make sure that we collect the points,” said Luphahla.
Fixtures:
Saturday
ZPC Kariba vs Bulawayo City Nyamhunga Stadium; Harare City vs WhaWha National Sports Stadium; Chicken Inn vs Caps United Luveve Stadium; FC Platinum vs Yadah FC Mandava Stadium; Black Rhinos vs Manica Diamonds Vengere Stadium; Tenax FC vs Ngezi Platinum Sakubva Stadium
Sunday
Cranborne Bullets vs Triangle United Vengere Stadium Bulawayo Chiefs vs Herentals College Luveve Stadium; Dynamos vs Highlanders National Sports Stadium
