BY TERRY MADYAUTA
WHAWHA………..(0)1
DYNAMOS……….(0)2
DYNAMOS kept their quest for the Premier Soccer League title well on track following a hard-fought 2-1 win over struggling WhaWha at Ascot stadium yesterday.
King Nadolo and Alex Orotomol were on target for the Harare giants while Tendaishe Magwaza scored the consolation goal for WhaWha.
With the win, Dynamos moved to 29 points, three clear of Chicken Inn and will now hope for the latter to drop points when they clash with Highlanders this afternoon at Barbourfields stadium.
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The Harare giants were lucky to secure all three points after a lacklustre first half in which the prison wardens kept the visitors at bay with the usually menacing Bill Antonio and Emmanuel Paga tightly monitored.
Dynamos felt hard done by referee Martin Chivandire in the 22nd minute when Paga fell under a tackle from Roy Useni.
Two minutes later Godkows Murwira was on the spotlight again with a delightful delivery into the box, with Nadolo’s connecting header hitting the bar before Paga put the ball over the bar.
Shadreck Nyahwa also made another beautiful delivery on the hour mark, but Paga missed the target from close range.
On the other hand, WhaWha spent the entire first stanza without a single shot on target.
However, they returned from the break with some sting, with Jayden Barake hitting the target two minutes into the second half, but it was ruled out for an offside.
Dynamos then broke the deadlock in the 51st minute courtesy of a Nadolo tap-in from a long cross that was delivered by Murwira.
The lead was however short-lived as the prison wardens restored parity through Magwaza following a goalmouth melee after goalie Taimon Mvula fumbled a corner-kick that was whipped in by Takudzwa Jukulile.
From then on, it was a balanced affair with both sides slow to move out of their blocks waiting to break on the counter.
WhaWha though put up an improved performance with Barake getting into promising positions with the ball but his final effort let the team down as he also lacked enough support.
For Dynamos, King Nadolo proved to be the hero as he engineered their second goal with a sizzling run on the wing, before slicing through a cross that met an acrobatic kick from Bill Antonio.
Goalie Terrence Chiku repelled Antonio’s effort but towering Orotomal was in place to tap the ball home.
Despite the win, Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya was not happy with his players’ performances.
“We won but I am not happy with how the team played. They were complacent and we could have lost the match because WhaWha were very difficult today,” Ndiraya said.
“It’s not the time to underestimate teams because we are at a time where teams are getting better with each game.
“Look at how many chances we created in the first half but Paga missed them. That’s not the character that we want if we are to win anything this season. The second half was decent but the first half did not make me happy at all. Everyone was too relaxed for a team that needed to win. ”
His counterpart, Luke Petros felt hard done by the match officiating.
“The second goal was something else. I don’t have the power to make decisions but I felt they needed to protect the goalkeeper after the commotion in the box, but a goal was given.
“Overall I am happy that the fighting spirit is growing with each match and we are gaining confidence to play toe to toe with the big giants but we now need to work on maintaining focus until the final whistle because that is where we always lack in almost every game.”
Teams:
WHAWHA: T Chiku, M Sibanda, T Daka, T Magwaza, R Useni, R Horonga, M Chirwa, T Jukulile, J Barake, E Brown( D Mapuwa 46′), T Chitora
DYNAMOS: T Mvula, S Appiah, K Nadolo, F Makarati, E Jalai, K Murera, E Katema (A Orotomal 62′), G Murwira, S Nyahwa, E Paga( M Ofori 80), B Antonio ( T Makanda 90)