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Playing before a packed Rufaro, DeMbare seemed to get off to the kind of start they had dreamt for when on-fire striker Takesure Chinyama gave them a 14th minute lead.
But, for much of the remaining 76 minutes, Dynamos laboured for their victory and rarely found the fluidity that left the estimated 30 000 crowd somewhat feeling shortchanged.
For now the majority of the DeMbare fans will be more concerned by the fact that their team secured their passage to the next round.
However, coach Callisto Pasuwa and his technical department would be the first to admit that this is one game they won after playing second fiddle.
Pasuwa certainly has a lot do before he faces Esperance next month.
That Dynamos terribly lost their shape following the injury to Devon Chafa highlighted DeMbare’s midfield woes. Skipper George Magariro was also jittery in central defence, hardly exhibiting the confidence that his experience should be showing.
Luckily though for Dynamos, Liga Muculmana lacked the cutting edge to trouble Washington Arubi.
The Mozambicans, however, caught the eye with their passing game and promising build-ups.
The visitors will also return home with memories of the intimidating atmosphere at Rufaro as, shortly before kick off the whole stadium went into a frenzy with the Zora Butter routine dance and the atmosphere was so electric and obviously sent some shivers down their spine.
And after the match, the Dynamos players repaid the gesture as they went round the stadium doing the same dance, saluting the fans on all the four stands and even neutral fans couldn’t help but admire such beautiful sights.
The only black spot of the match was the chaos that marred the gates, especially the VIP gates, and most journalists found their way into the ground after half an hour and well after Chinyama had scored.
Had Godfrey Japajapa, who has been appointed onto the Dynamos marketing committee, not taken it upon himself to ensure the passage of journalists into the ground, it’s a safe bet that most of them would have failed to cover the match.
Even the fans are getting a raw deal with the way the gates are being manned and, once the Dynamos leadership decided that the cheapest ticket would go for US$4, they should have braced for the challenges that would come with the need to get the US$1 for change. It appears they didn’t and the fans’ entrance into the stadium turned into a trickle and one of the gates was broken by desperate supporters.