Maruwa excited about DeMbare Dynamos coach Herbert Maruwa.

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THEY say the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  New Dynamos head coach Hebert Maruwa got a glimpse of what to expect in his new job this season when he watched his team’s first friendly match against Castle Lager Premiership newboys Sheasham in Gweru at the weekend.

The former Black Rhinos coach has wasted no time in getting his pre-season programme into full swing.

Maruwa had the privilege of parading 16 players during the friendly game, which DeMbare claimed 1-0 courtesy of Frank Makarati’s strike from a rebound late on.

“This was our first friendly game and obviously we were using it to assess a number of things,” said Maruwa.

“There were lots of positives from that game, not to mention some few negatives that we also noticed and would need to work on during the remainder of the pre-season. Generally, the guys are responding well,” said Maruwa.

DeMbare’s starting eleven featured seven new players on Saturday and these included former FC Platinum defender Kevin Moyo, Donald Mudadi, Tanaka Shandirwa, Emmanuel Ziocha, Arthur Musiyiwa, and the Premiership rookie of the year Jayden Barake.

Goalkeeper Taimon Mvula, Makarati, Emmanuel Jalai, Brandon Mpofu and Tinashe Makanda were the only starters from the old guard.

Maruwa made a triple substitution at the resumption bringing in Eli Ilunga in for Barake, Issa Sadiki for Ziocha and Ghanaian Emmanuel Paga for Musiyiwa.

Later on, new signing Nyasha Chintuli also came in for Makanda. Maruwa said he was still trying out various combinations.

“I am happy with the composition of the team; we are still trying to find the right combinations to carry us this season.

“We are building a new team and we should expect that at the beginning. But the good thing is that most of these guys have played Premiership football before. They are not all entirely new to the game at this level.

“So, we just want to make sure that they understand the culture of Dynamos and respond accordingly. I am happy with the work ethic and I know these guys can do more for Dynamos,” said Maruwa.

The 46-year-old coach believes he has now assembled the core of his team after roping in almost a dozen players to replace the 13 that were released by the club earlier this month.

DeMbare are also set to sign their former midfielder Denver Mukamba who has been training with the club for the past few days.

“I think we now need to look at the depth of our squad. We have got three slots left for the seniors and another three for the juniors. This makes it six slots and we are looking forward to filling these slots.

“And, for now Denver is part of us. You cannot doubt his talent. However, there are one or two personal issues that we still need to discuss with him before everything is made official. Otherwise he is very much in our plans for this season,” said Maruwa.

Meanwhile, former Dynamos goalkeepers’ coach Gift Muzadzi has been unveiled by Real Betis Zimbabwe Academy to lead their goalkeepers’ department up to the senior level.

He is the second ex-DeMbare technical personnel to join the ambitious grassroots development franchise after Naison Muchekela.

Both Muzadzi and Muchekela recently parted ways with Dynamos after they were caught up in a massive clear-out that also claimed the scalp of head coach Tonderai Ndiraya and several other players that included skipper Partson Jaure.

“It’s Official Gift ‘Umbro’ Muzadzi is green and white,” said Betis on their social media platforms.

“One of Zimbabwe’s finest goalkeepers and coaches Gift Muzadzi has joined our technical team in our aim to produce world class talent from our campus through the Real Betis Methodology of football.

“We are delighted to have his experience in both his playing and coaching career. Gift will lead our goalkeepers’ department in our senior age groups.”

Muzadzi is now part of the Betis Harare campus technical team that also has Muchekela as head coach for the Under-12s and Under-19s, Zetie Sibanda (Under-17 coach), and another DeMbare son Tichaona Diya, who leads the academy’s Under-15 side.

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