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Tonderai Ndiraya

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS assistant coach Tonderai Ndiraya says the defence of their title will demand mental strength from their players after the champions snatched a point at Hwange on Sunday to end the first round matches on third position.

Ndiraya yesterday said they were looking to maintain their dominance in the domestic Premiership by winning a fifth successive title this year.

DeMbare, on 27 points, managed to cut the difference between them and log leaders Chicken Inn down to two points at the weekend when they snatched a 1-1 draw at Hwange on Sunday.

Chicken Inn lost 2-0 to CAPS United on the same day but the Gamecocks still have a match to be decided following the abandonment of their home tie against Dongo Sawmill the previous week.

Second-placed Triangle also failed to garner maximum points at the weekend after playing a 1-1 draw at Highlanders.

“We are happy with where we are at this point of the campaign. Our team is improving and we are slowly recovering from the slump that affected us recently.

“So we would want to keep working hard in the second half of the season. Teams are beefing up during this transfer window and we can only expect the coming games to be more difficult.

“Mentally, we need to be up there so that we last the distance. This is the trickiest part of the campaign and it needs mental strength,” said Ndiraya.

Dominic Chungwa was the hero for the Glamour Boys when he scored a second half goal to rescue a point at Hwange after Munyaradzi Mungadze had put the hosts ahead early in the game.

“This was a very crucial point for us. As you know the Colliery is a difficult place to visit and coming back home with a point is a job well done.

“Our boys fought very hard for this and I am happy we are third on the log standings going into the second round fixtures. We now look forward to take it up from there from next week,” said Ndiraya.

DeMbare strikers have been struggling in front of goal and Ndiraya said they are looking to put the problems behind them with the return of Takesure Chinyama and newboy Richard Kawondera who joins them from Triangle.

“We are happy one of the strikers scored at the weekend and hopefully that will boost the confidence in the department.

“Also, Takesure and Richard are done deals. We are just waiting for the paperwork to be completed at the offices. Otherwise they could be up for section this weekend if everything is done on time.

“I believe their coming will only make the team stronger especially in the forward department. It should be a boost which should give us the much needed goals,” said Ndiraya.

Chicken Inn have dominated the first round matches.

Their coach Joey Antipas said Chicken Inn wanted to be a competitive outfit all the way to the finishing line despite suffering a setback in the 2-0 defeat by CAPS United on Sunday.

“We were not doing too bad. After this defeat (to CAPS) we have just got to regroup and prepare for the next challenge.

“We have to believe in ourselves, keep pushing, try and shrug the setback aside and move on,” said Antipas.

Triangle coach Kelvin Kaindu, who took over late last year, has managed to transform the side from a side that fought relegation until the final day last season to championship contenders.

“We are looking good because we are rubbing shoulders with the top teams in the race.

In terms of goals we broke the records we set at Highlanders and now we are looking to continue with our hard work.

“Competition is always tough in the second round matches because teams will be racing against targets. This is when clubs will be fighting for the championship while others will be trying to avoid relegation,” said Kaindu.

Newboys Dongo Sawmill, Whawha, Flame Lily and Tsholotsho appear to have found the going tough in the topflight.