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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
HARARE giants Dynamos have hailed their successors to the throne, Chicken Inn, for a determined run which ended the Glamour Boys’ four-year dominance of the Castle Lager Premiership. The Gamecocks were crowned this year’s champions following the 3-1 home win over Harare City at Luveve at the weekend. The victory gave them an unassailable four-point lead at the top of the table with 58 points and only the game remaining in the season.

Dynamos, who won the title between 2011 and 2014, failed to last the distance this year and are in third position on the log standings. They are tied on 54 points with second-placed FC Platinum ahead of the dead rubber last round matches.

DeMbare team manager Richard Chihoro yesterday said Chicken Inn deserved to be champions for their resolute performances this year. “I think they have worked hard for it. They played very well this season and they deserve it. We wish them well especially when they go out to represent the nation in the CAF Champions League next year,” said Chihoro.

“Things didn’t go our way this season. We played too many draws, including in some games we were in good positions to win. In the end we dropped some valuable points which cost us the title. However, we are now aiming to finish the season on a positive note. It was disappointing we didn’t defend the championship. But we still need to win our last match against Buffaloes to clinch second place. We are also in the running for the NetOne Easycall Cup. We have to stay focused.”

DeMbare beat Chapungu 2-0 at Rufaro on Saturday but the win came too late to change anything. The Glamour Boys had dominated the domestic scene under Callisto Pasuwa, who wrote his own piece of history by winning four league titles in succession with the same club.But this year’s campaign was difficult from the start following the decision by the coach not to renew his contract at the beginning of the year.

David Mandigora, who replaced the Warriors coach, struggled with the team and was fired midway through the marathon to leave his assistant Tonderai Ndiraya in charge. And it appeared Ndiraya was also taking long to settle in the job.

Dynamos secretary-general Webster Chikengezha yesterday said they are looking to come back stronger next season. “In football you need challenges and Chicken Inn were worthy competitors this year. They played well this year and they gave us something to go back and work on. I guess it can only make us a better team. So we are going back to the drawing board and then try to improve on our team before we can think of relaunching our campaign next year.

“We are definitely coming back to challenge for it next season. Obviously we look to retain the core of our players and probably add some few more players to strengthen the squad. We don’t have plans to replace our coach.

“But what we need is to beef up the technical department and also to balance our squad,” said Chikengezha. He said Dynamos had not had it easier this year. He said they are backing Ndiraya to continue with the team next season. They will find someone during the off season to strengthen the bench.

Ndiraya worked this year with Gift Muzadzi, who doubled as goalkeepers’ trainer and assistant coach. “We had won the championship in the last four years consecutively and this made us the team to beat. So it meant we were playing all our games under pressure. It’s not an easy thing to do.

“Of course the changes in our coaching department may also have contributed to our performances this season. We played too many draws in the first half of the season. So we had to ring the changes and ultimately the coach who finished the season didn’t have much control in this campaign.

“But if we hadn’t changed the coaches, we would probably have finished in a worse position,” said Chikengezha.