BY HENRY MHARA
CRANBORNE Bullets coach Nesbert Saruchera will not be rubbing his hands together gleefully at the prospect of facing a struggling Dynamos this weekend, as he believes that the Harare giants are at their most dangerous when they appear to be down.
This clash between the two Harare teams will take place at Vengere Stadium in Rusape on Saturday, the adopted home venue for the army side.
Tonderai Ndiraya’s title chasing side are struggling for form and have managed just five points in their last five matches, to fall five points behind log leaders FC Platinum in the race for the championship.
They have failed to win in their last two matches since the mid-season break, losing 1-0 to Yadah before drawing against Triangle last week.
Alarm bells are already ringing in their camp, with a militant section of their supporters baying for Ndiraya’s blood.
“They are going through a difficult phase which is normal in football anyway, but they remain Dynamos, one of the country’s biggest sporting institutions, if not the biggest. We all know what they are capable of,” Saruchera said.
“We will give them the respect they deserve. I feel they are actually at their most dangerous because they have their backs against the wall. They want to bounce back so we can’t really say this is the opportune time to meet them. It will be a difficult match for us. But we have prepared well with all the players available and everyone is ready.”
“My team is composed mainly of youngsters so they are motivated and excited to play against the big giants. It’s an advantage to us coaches.”
Dynamos currently sit on third position on the log standings with 35 points. Second-placed Chicken Inn are on 38 points after 19 rounds of matches.
Cranborne Bullets are not doing well themselves.
They had lost five consecutive matches before their 1-0 win away to Bulawayo Chiefs last weekend, which propelled them out of the relegation zone.
They are now on 13th position with 19 points, a point above ZPC Kariba, a team sitting on the relegation cut-off point.
“The win was a morale booster for the team. We are hoping to kick on from now on and try to string some positive results. I’m happy that we managed to finally get a win that our performances merit. We have been playing well but losing matches. It was just a bad phase for us and we hope it has passed,” Saruchera said.
Dynamos edged Cranborne Bullets 1-0 in the reverse fixture, with Shadreck Nyahwa scoring the only goal two minutes into the match.
Castle Lager Premier Soccer League Matchday 20 Fixtures
Tomorrow: Yadah v Harare City (National Sports Stadium)
Saturday: Herentals v Ngezi Platinum Stars (National Sports Stadium), Bulawayo City v Whawha (Barbourfields), Cranborne Bullets v Dynamos (Vengere), FC Platinum v Bulawayo Chiefs (Mandava)
Sunday: Highlanders v Manica Diamonds (Barbourfields), Triangle v ZPC Kariba (Gibbo), Caps United v Black Rhinos (National Sports Stadium), Tenax v Chicken Inn (TBA)
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