Dynamos FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) (1)
Green Fuel FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
DYNAMOS edged Green Fuel 1-0 in a closely contested Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.
Substitute Sadney Urikhob scored the only goal at the death to give DeMbare all three points as well as giving underfire coach Genesis Mangombe some breathing space.
Having been introduced as a substitute for a struggling Dynamos side, desperate to beat Green Fuel, Urikhob made good work of a half chance right at the stroke of full time to score.
Urikhob's energy and passion levels were well above those of his teammates.
Yesterday's win is the first for DeMbare against a team that was in the top-flight last season.
With a conversion rate of 0.9 goals per match so far this season, Dynamos' top scorer after 17 rounds is winger Emmanuel Paga, who has three goals and is five behind the league's leading scorer William Manondo, who turns out for Premiership rivals Caps United.
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Dynamos went into the match with one win from their previous eight matches, yet they had only lost once in those matches and drawing six times.
The team had four wins in 16 matches and those victories came against promoted sides TelOne, Bikita Minerals, Arenel Movers and Chegutu Pirates.
Dynamos went into the match missing most of their key players. Tanaka Shandirwa and Shadreck Nyahwa were suspended while Ansa Botshway and Kelvin Moyo were out injured.
Donald Mudadi and vice-captain Emmanuel Jalai are representing the country at the Cosafa Cup tournament in South Africa.
Green Fuel were without coach Saul Chaminuka, who is with the Warriors in South Africa, together with players Tinotenda Meke and Washington Mapuwa.
Mangombe was relieved and couldn't hide his excitement, running to the corner flag to celebrate with his players.
Reacting to Urikhob's performance, Mangombe said the Namibian had struck the right chords.
"He is slowly gelling. Unfortunately, with Dynamos, we don't need players who take time. You need to quickly adjust and make an impact if you are a DeMbare player. We had faith in him and I'm happy that he managed to give us three points today," he said.
Mangombe's counterpart, Taurai Mangwiro, raised concerns about the officials' last-minute decisions. Mangwiro claimed that the officials delayed the reintroduction of one of his players who had gone out to seek medical attention, leading to Dynamos taking advantage of a one-man advantage.
"Maybe I need to be educated, but one of our players had gone out with an injury and went off the pitch for treatment. Does he need three minutes to gain permission to come back in? I even asked the referee how much time our central defender needed to go back, and he said he had given him permission, but the fourth official was the one who held him back. And we conceded the goal from exactly where the central defender was manning. The match was handled well, but it's those last-minute decisions that make a difference," he said.
