PSL giants reawakening from their slumber AIN’T NO STOPPING US NOW . . . Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya has seen his side chalking up four wins on the trot in the Castle Lager Premiership football championship race following Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Harare City at the National Sports Stadium

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

THE month of March, which comes to an end this week, could have brought with it an exciting dimension in the Castle Lager Premiership football championship race as domestic giants continued to give signals of reawakening from their slumber.

The trio of Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United have been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons following a slow start in the marathon.

As has become the trend in recent years, corporate backed teams like Manica Diamonds, Chicken Inn, Ngezi Platinum, Triangle and FC Platinum were quick off the blocks.

And, Chicken Inn have shown great determination since the resumption from the AFCON break and have since dislodged early pace-setters Manica Diamonds at the top of the table with some consistent results.

However, their dominance is likely to face new challenges as the traditional ‘’Big Three’’ – Dynamos, Highlandewrs and CAPS United – appear to be making their way up.

In fact, the last month was an auspicious period for the giants, who completed the cycle without tasting defeat from four rounds of play, and possibly positioning themselves well for the long haul.

Harare giants CAPS United, who at some point were clobbered 2-6 by Manica Diamonds, have suddenly hit good form and appear to have put behind them the disappointments they faced earlier in the season.

The Green Machine faced a lot of criticism for their poor form and the composition of their team after coach Lloyd Chitembwe had brought in a number of veterans to beef-up his squad following an exodus of players from the club.

But Makepekepe have won three of the four games played this month, with the other one ending in a share of the spoils. They ended the month on a high after pummeling Herentals into submission with a hard-earned 3-2 win at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday.

“I am extremely happy with the fact that we have played four games in recent weeks and have managed to collect three wins and that in itself gives us hope that there is progression,” said Chitembwe.

The former Zimbabwe international believes he has a good squad, good enough to compete for honours, but had suffered from a poor pre-season because of the financial problems that befell the club in December and January.

While he believes his team is coming up, Chitembwe was not happy with a number of defensive mistakes that almost cost them maximum points against Herentals at the weekend.

Makepekepe gave away their two-goal advantage early in the second half on Saturday. They allowed their opponents to hit back twice in a space of two minutes and level the scores, when they had appeared to have already bagged the game.

But then Makepekepe hero and top goal scorer William Manondo rose again to complete his double on the day with two minutes of regulation time remaining in the 3-2 win.

“It was a game of two halves. I thought we did enough to win it, especially in the first half. We controlled and dominated the game, we never gave them a chance especially in the first half. I thought they came back strong in the second half and they obviously made some changes to their playing form.

“Thought they exploited the half spaces in our three-men defence in the second half and that also prompted us to change the way we played in the first half and we reverted to the normal back four. It also helped us in some way.

“It gave us some solidity and I was extremely disappointed with the way we conceded those two goals. I thought we could have done far much better to manage those situations,” said Chitembwe.

Their crosstown rivals Dynamos experienced none of the scares in their 2-0 win over battling Harare City. DeMbare are now breathing down the necks of log leaders Chicken Inn.

They are on a four-match winning run and have taken their points tally to 19 points, three behind the log leaders after nine games.

“I’m happy that we collected maximum points and we look forward to the next game, which is a derby and these are quite difficult,” said Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya.

“Yes, four wins in a row and I’m happy. It’s the stuff that we want and we are now aiming to win the fifth one. We are taking it step by step, game by game.

“I’m happy that fans are now responding to the good results that we’ve been posting and I’m sure they also played a huge role in terms of pushing the team to get a result.

“We keep urging them to come and support their team, without them it becomes very difficult for the team to push themselves to the limit, so we always cherish their presence and I hope they come in their number to the next game.”

Highlanders had a more polished performance at the weekend, winning 3-0 against Yadah at Barbourfields. Their coach Mandla Mpofu was at some point at the mercy of a section of the Bosso fans who were baying for his blood following a poor start.

Highlanders were neither scoring enough goals nor winning matches but things appear to have turned around with two wins and two draws this month, which saw them back in the top 10.

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