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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THERE is a myth that Lloyd Chigowe scripted a successful story when he was plucked from obscurity to shepherd Dynamos’ battle to try and avoid relegation from the Premiership last season.

It was the Glamour Boys’ survival at the end of last year, which somehow convinced the club’s leadership to hand Chigowe a three-year contract as the substantive coach of the team.

However, a run of just one win in their first four games, and three successive losses, have forced the club’s leaders to end their brief dance with Chigowe, who was sacked yesterday after DeMbare succumbed to a shocking 0-1 defeat at the hands of Herentals.

But, maybe, in a game that has become very scientific, the Dynamos leaders would have helped their cause had they invested effort into analysis of Chigowe’s performance once he took over from Lloyd Mutasa in September last year.

They would have seen that, even though they managed to beat the relegation threat, it was by no means a vintage show by their men and, while some key results swung their way, the team didn’t improve under Chigowe.

DeMbare played six matches under the man they call MaBlanyo towards the end of the season and won two matches, drew two and lost as many games.

They were beaten 0-2 by eventual champions FC Platinum at Mandava, laboured to a controversial 2-1 win over Black Rhinos, beat Herentals 2-0, were held to a goalless draw by Triangle at Rufaro, were also held to a 2-2 draw at home by Mutare City before losing 0-3 to Nichrut.

That victory over Rhinos came courtesy of a goal scored by Marshal Machazane, who used both his hands to punch the ball into the nets, with referee Josiah Masimira ignoring the offence.

“These are things I cannot control, but I don’t know how can a referee allow a player to use both hands to score? Not one, but two hands and he just ignored it,’’ said a furious Rhinos coach, Hebert Maruwa.

“We are not going anywhere with our football.”

But what did the DeMbare leadership see in Chigowe? Maybe, the fact that he won just two of the six games, including one in which the result was secured by their skipper using his hands to push the ball home, or that he drew two of those six games?

Maybe, because they beat Herentals.

Statistics tell an interesting story and show that, under Chigowe, Dynamos had a 44,44 percent failure score in the six matches the coach was in charge at the end of last season.

Eight points, out of a possible 18, where some of the opponents were Nichrut and Mutare City should have shown the leadership that things were not going in the right direction.

A team that was destroyed 0-3 by Nichrut, who had already been relegated, in their final game of the season, surely didn’t have the kind of coach who could be handed a three-year deal to revive these Glamour Boys.

A team held 2-2 by relegated Mutare City, in their last home match of the season didn’t look like having the quality coach who could be handed the role of building this side in the long term.

And, the truth has a way of smuggling itself to the surface.

The weaknesses which emerged during that final phase of the season last year, which the DeMbare leaders decided to overlook in the euphoria of surviving relegation (can you imagine for a giant like this team?), were crudely exposed this season.

One win in their first four games, including three successive defeats, in the league, was as bad as it comes.

A 25 percent failure score, with only three points from a possible 12, represented as poor a return as DeMbare could have imagined.

When you combine all the matches which Chigowe superintended, you will see that DeMbare only won three of the 10 games they played since he took over in September last year, drew two and lost five.

That’s a 36,66 percent score and, if the Dynamos leaders had checked last year’s results and examined them without being fooled by the way their team beat relegation, they would not have handed the job to Chigowe.

But, then, science isn’t something they value at DeMbare because, if they did, maybe even some of those who are leading the team would not have been there in the first place.