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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
GIANTS Dynamos could land their second major piece of silverware inside a month if they overcome Premiership rivals Triangle in the NetOne One Wallet Cup, whose final has now been set for October 5 at the National Sports Stadium. DeMbare were at the National Stadium on September 6 for the inaugural TM Pick n Pay Cup final against Highlanders where Callisto Pasuwa’s league champions ran riot and thumped their Bulawayo rivals 4-1.

The shock, which that defeat induced on Bosso, is still being felt by the Bulawayo giants’ fans who have been piling pressure on the club executive and Zambian gaffer Kelvin Kaindu, who has been blamed for failing to find a formula to beat Dynamos.

While Bosso have been licking the wounds of the manner in which they capitulated in the TM Pick n Pay Cup, DeMbare have shifted their attention to the possibility of another cup success following the setting of the date for the One Wallet Cup final.

Premier Soccer League chief executive Kenny Ndebele last night revealed that DeMbare and Triangle would bring the curtain down on the tournament which began on July 18 when they meet on October 5.

Ndebele said they had settled for the giant stadium as the venue of the final One Wallet battle in consultation with the tournament’s sponsors and the top-flight body’s broadcasting partners SuperSport.

“The One Wallet final will be played at the National Sports Stadium on October 5 between Dynamos and Triangle and there will be 30 minutes of extra time in the event of a deadlock between the two teams after 90 minutes.

“Should there be another deadlock after extra time then penalty kicks will be used to determine the winner,’’ Ndebele said.
The National Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for DeMbare in the cup competitions this season.

DeMbare were at the same venue on July 20 where they sent bitter city rivals CAPS United tumbling out of the One Wallet Cup at the quarter-final stage after Roderick Mutuma’s 79th minute goal separated the two giants and helped Pasuwa’s men maintain their dominance over Makepekepe.

Dynamos then accounted for How Mine 2-0 in the second of the semi-final matches that were staged at Mandava with promising rightback Blessing Moyo opening the score before seasoned striker Washington Pakamisa sealed the victory.

While Dynamos won in regulation time in their matches in the road to the October 5 final, Triangle had to do it in a rather difficult manner with the “Sugar Sugar Boys” needing to ride their luck in the penalty shootout lottery in the quarter-finals and semi- finals.

On both occasions, Mandava was the venue of Triangle’s One Wallet Cup triumphs.
In their quarter-final assignment on July 18, Biggie Zuze’s charges played a 1-1 deadlock with Harare City before they edged into the semi-finals following a 7-6 penalty shoot out win.
Triangle were back at Mandava on August 30 for a date against Chicken. Both sides fired blanks in regulation time, but it was Triangle who were more precise in the penalty kicks with the Lowveld outfit winning through 5-3 to book a maiden place in a major domestic cup final.

Now, with the PSL yesterday setting the date for the final Triangle, who are also battling against relegation, can intensify their preparations knowing that they could upstage the Premiership champions and claim their first silverware.

Triangle will also be hoping to avenge for their 1-2 league defeat to Dynamos at Gibbo on August 24, which left Zuze bitterly complaining against the match officiating and even suggesting that DeMbare had over the years been aided by biased refereeing.

Zuze claimed that the league champions get results through referees who sympathise with them and that it must be an easy job to coach Dynamos because of the biased officiating.
The Triangle coach’s attacks came after DeMbare had been awarded a penalty that helped them level the scores at 1-1 before the visitors then secured a crucial win that helped them keep their place at the top of the log standings and with it maintain their dream for a fourth straight championship.

However, Pasuwa hit back and argued that “Zuze should learn to accept defeat and not find something else to blame’’.
“With all due respect to Biggie and other like-minded coaches who do not appear to concede defeat whenever they lose and instead choose to find something to blame, I would like to make it clear that Dynamos have not been winning the league championship because of the club’s history and size or reputation, but because of the hard work that the management, coaches and players put week in and week out,’’ Pasuwa told The Herald.

Now the One Wallet Cup presents Triangle with an opportunity to avenge for that league defeat at Gibbo and prove that indeed De- Mbare had won in controversial circumstances.