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THE GLAMOUR BOYS . . . Dynamos centre-back Sydney “Tingo” Linyama leads his teammates during a training session at Zimphos Ground yesterday as they prepare for Sunday’s Mbada Diamonds Cup match against Tripple B at Gibbo

Augustine Hwata Sports Reporter
GIANT defender Oscar Machapa, the hero of Dynamos in their Harare derby victory over CAPS United last week, picked up an injury yesterday as the Glamour Boys prepared for the defence of their Mbada Diamonds Cup with a first round clash against Tripple B this weekend.
Machapa was the star of the show as he scored a stunning long-range shot in the first half to give DeMbare a crucial victory over his former club at Rufaro.

But there was a minor concern over the fitness of Machapa after the former Moroka Swallows player failed to complete yesterday’s afternoon training session ahead of Sunday’s clash at Gibbo.

Dynamos coach Callisto Pasuwa was also worried over the fitness of Augustine Mbara, who is returning to training after having been sidelined by injury in previous matches.

Pasuwa, however, is hopeful that Machapa will be able to recover from the knock ahead of their departure for Triangle on Saturday.
“He picked up a knock on the ankle during training. So we did not want to aggravate the injury and decided to rest him for the rest of the session.

“We talked to the team doctor and he said it’s a minor knock. Initially, we had thought that it was a hamstring injury, but the doctor allayed those fears and hopefully he will be able to recover.

“There is also Mbara, who also failed to finish the training session as he is just returning from injury, otherwise, the rest of the players are fine,” said Pasuwa.

During the high-profile Harare derby, Machapa produced a fine show when he beat two markers to fire a powerful effort that ensured DeMbare maintain their dominance over the Green Machine.

Before edging CAPS United, Dynamos’ spirits had been deflated after they lost 4-3  on penalties in the BancABC Sup8r semi-final against Shabanie Mine at Barbourfields.

While Dynamos have gone for 31 matches without a defeat in Harare, Pasuwa is very much cautious of the way they have struggled in away matches.

DeMbare lost 3-1 to army side Buffaloes in Mutare and they also dropped points by losing 1-0 to How Mine at Barbourfields.
In the other league matches outside Harare, Dynamos drew 0-0 with Black Rhinos at Rimuka and also drew 1-1 with Shabanie Mine at Maglas.

In their last visit to Gibbo, Dynamos managed to turn the tables against Buffaloes, who had stunned them.
Yesterday, Pasuwa urged his troops never to underrate their opponents, who are also seeking to cause a major upset in the competition.
“I think this is going to be one of our difficult missions in the defence of the cup. We have won it twice before and now a lot of teams also want to lay claim to the prize money, including Tripple B.

“We have to be mentally prepared for the game. This build-up has to start with the way we see our opponents as Dynamos.
“Some of the players and even the officials might brush Tripple B aside and say they are a small team, but this is a cup game and anything is possible.

“We went to Shabanie the last time (in the BancABC Sup8r ) and dominated nearly 75 minutes of the game until they came back at us to equalise and we lost on penalties.

“So I am telling my players that we should never underrate any opponent in a game of football,” said Pasuwa.
Pasuwa has won the Mbada Diamonds Cup twice since its inception in 2011, when Dynamos beat Motor Action in a rain-soaked final before they retained the trophy after beating Monomotapa last year.

“As Dynamos, we have to put maximum effort in all the games that we play. We need to defend this trophy, but in order to do that, we have to put great effort in this game.

“We need to do our level best to defend it,” said Pasuwa.
The Dynamos gaffer believes his players are so much used to the smooth but hard artificial turf at Rufaro and sometimes tend to struggle with accurate passes when playing on bumpy pitches.

“It’s one area we need to work on because we are losing games away from home. Maybe it’s because of the mentality of the players and we need to play just like we do at home,” said Pasuwa yesterday.

However, Tripple B director Edward Kanyangu has refused to be intimidated by Dynamos’ illustrious history in domestic football.
Kanyangu said his side was struggling financially and they would need the windfall from the Mbada Diamonds Cup to ease their woes. He said they might have been struggling in the league but they have a chance to shock Dynamos at Gibbo on Sunday.

“We have not been doing well in the league and we need maybe three consecutive games to rise and we should start by winning this match against Dynamos,” he said.

In the match at Gibbo, Tripple B will be hoping that former Dynamos players Aleck Marime and Timire Mamvura will be able to steady the nerves of the Beitbridge-based side.

Meanwhile, Zifa’s supporters’ liaison officer Simeon Jamanda has thrown his weight behind Mbada Diamonds Cup for keeping the entry charges for the matches to a minimum US$1.

“Mbada is taking care of all the expenses and this means teams will not incur any losses in these games. So the US$1 entry fee for the fans is something positive as many people will afford to come and watch the matches,” said Jamanda.