DeMbare to unleash duo Tonderai Ndiraya

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS coach Tonderai Ndiraya has a positive headache and a tough decision to make ahead of their Castle Lager Premiership football match against Yadah at the National Sports Stadium today.

At the centre of the perplexity are wingers Issa Sadiki and Bill Antonio. The former was virtually unplayable and capped a fine afternoon with a goal when given a rare opportunity to start in their last outing against CAPS United.

Sadiki was filling in the position of the teenage midfielder, who had been the key man for the Harare giants, but missed the last two games because of a red card.

And as Antonio marks his return this week, the DeMbare technical team have to decide whether to revert to him ahead of the equally impressive Sadiki or to unleash both against the church-owned team.

“We haven’t made a decision yet but Issa did well and rightfully deserves a starting place. He scored a goal and it’s very difficult for us the technical team to leave him out. Obviously he is going to be a starter in that game.

“We will then have to come up with a plan to see if they can both start or perhaps we will look for a plan to accommodate the two but it’s a decision that we are yet to make. So let’s wait and see.

“I wouldn’t really want to pre-empt what we have been doing at training but the coming in of Bill certainly adds a different dimension to our play.

“Unleashing both will also be very good for the team. We know that we would have what we really need on the wings. So let’s see what happens,” said Ndiraya.

Sadiki was literally on fire the last time out when they handed bitter rivals CAPS United their biggest defeat in recent years in the Harare Derby that ended 3-0 in DeMbare’s favour. His performances in that game confounded the technical team and the DeMbare fans alike.

But today, the 25-year-old will come up against his former paymasters, Yadah, where he played his football last season.

Dynamos are also set to welcome back teenage winger Antonio who missed the last two assignments because of the red card he picked in the emotionally-charged league game against Highlanders last month.

Antonio has been one of the Glamour Boys’ stand-out performers in the first half of the season, contributing three goals and an assist.

“Bill has been very key for us; he has been a very key member of the team. He has been involved in most of the goals that we’ve scored in the past 17 games so his coming back is a huge boost for the team.

“It gives us another different dimension to our play so we are happy that he is back after serving a two-match suspension and hopefully he will pick up from where he left off,” said Ndiraya.

“He is a young boy and, in his first season, it’s unfortunate that he had to serve the suspension the way he did. We have been working with psychologically and to make sure he was not damaged by what transpired.

“Hopefully he’s got a very strong mentality to pick himself up and continue to do what he was doing before he got suspended.

“We believe in him and his abilities. Hopefully he can come back and do what he does best. He was looking sharp in training and hopefully if he carries that into the game then we know that we will be good to go as a team,” said Ndiraya.

Dynamos beat Yadah 1-0 in their first game of the season. They are currently third in the championship race with 34 points, one behind leaders Chicken Inn. Yadah on the other hand, are struggling in 14th place on the log standings with 16 points from 17 starts.

 Fixtures

Today: Cranborne Bullets v Chicken Inn (Sakubva), Bulawayo City v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Barbourfields), Yadah v Dynamos (NSS)

Tomorrow: Tenax v FC Platinum (Sakubva), CAPS United v ZPC Kariba (NSS), Highlanders v Black Rhinos (Barbourfields), Whawha v Manica Diamonds (Ascot), Triangle v Bulawayo Chiefs

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