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Richard Chihoro

Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
OUTGOING champions Dynamos say they have shifted their focus to this coming weekend’s Chibuku Super Cup soccer final against Harare City at the National Sports Stadium where they have a better chance of playing in the African Safari next year after they dropped more points in the Premiership championship race on Saturday. The Harare giants shared the spoils in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Flame Lily at Lafarge on Saturday and the result complicated their lives as they are now hoping that their rivals and pacesetters Chicken Inn and FC Platinum, who were both inactive this weekend, will not translate the game in hand into three points.

But yesterday Dynamos manager Richard Chihoro said while they are “down”, they are definitely not out and are now putting all their energies on the Chibuku Super Cup final and hope to play in the CAF Confederations Cup next year. “We are disappointed that we continue to drop points and instead of closing the gap, it is opening wider. But we will wait until the last match of the season and hope to pick maximum points in the last four matches.

“Our rivals haven’t played their league matches at the weekend and they have games in hand but we are not reading much into that as we are concentrating in our own team.

“We are starting to prepare for the Chibuku Super Cup and tomorrow (today) we will begin our training in preparation for the final on Saturday. “We have put behind our disappointing run in the league and we are focusing on the Cup final. We have to shift our focus “It is a good Cup which can see us play in Africa next year and we are not going into this Cup final as underdogs,” said Chihoro.

The Dynamos manager conceded that the weekend’s setback may impact on the morale of the team and would have to work hard on that so that they put it behind their minds when they face Harare City, who have been in terrific form in the Chibuku Super Cup. “It is the work of the technical team to lift the morale of the team so that by the time we play Harare City everyone would be ready for the clash,” he said.

Chihoro said their biggest undoing has been scoring goals and hopes the players perfect that before they meet the Sunshine Boys, who have been scoring for fun in the Chibuku Super Cup.

However, Harare City have also not been in best shape in the league where they have been an inconsistent lot and were also held at home by How Mine in a 1-1 draw at Rufaro on Saturday, making next Saturday’s game against Dynamos an open affair for the two teams. “We just need to work on our scoring. We have been missing a lot of chances so we have to work on that and sharpen our strikers,” Chihoro said.

The Harare giants would be relieved that their duo of Roderick Mutuma and Blessing Moyo, who were on national duty in Lesotho yesterday will be back to spur them on in the Chibuku Super Cup final against Harare City next Saturday. However, Chihoro believes it is not about individuals but team work and he just hopes that everyone bring their scoring boots to the National Sports Stadium on Saturday.

Fixtures
Wednesday: Chicken Inn v FC Platinum (Luveve); Chapungu v Highlanders (Ascot).

Sunday: CAPS United v Triangle (National Sports Stadium, SS).