CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League title-chasing Dynamos will seek better fortunes when they return to Barbourfields Stadium to host pass masters Yadah in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match on Sunday. DeMbare slumped on Saturday when they were felled by Green Fuel 1-0 at Gibbo Stadium.
The defeat, coupled with Highlanders’ win, left Dynamos with a nine-point deficit against the table toppers. DeMbare and all the other Harare-based sides have to travel every week because both the National Sports Stadium (NSS) and Rufaro Stadium are closed for face-lifts.
The NSS was the only facility hosting top-flight league football and after it was shut down, Dynamos set up base at Barbourfields. On Saturday they were at Gibbo after travelling 470km to Triangle where they returned to the capital empty-handed and this weekend they will do 440km to Bulawayo to face Yadah, who also lost their previous game 3-1 to Chicken Inn at Baobab last Saturday.
Barbourfields has, however, been a favourable hunting ground for Dynamos where they have not lost a match this season. Before last month’s PSL break, due to stadia crisis, Dynamos hit the road to the City of Kings and Queens in March for their first game of the season, where they picked up maximum points after beating Hwange at Barbourfields.
Another trip to Emagumeni in May saw them share spoils in a goalless draw with perennial rivals Highlanders. Following the break, after settling for Barbourfields as their new home, they played another goalless stalemate with FC Platinum before dismissing Chicken Inn 2-0.
They have picked up eight points out of a possible 12 at BF. The last time Dynamos and Yadah met, DeMbare won the match 1-0 at NSS in November last year, while the Miracle Boys were victorious with the same scoreline in the reverse fixture in June.
In other matches lined up for the weekend, Highlanders, eager to maintain their winning streak and remain at the top, clash with Ngezi Platinum Stars at Baobab Stadium on Sunday, in a match that pits the top two.
Ngezi sit on the second spot with 30 points, four behind the Bulawayo giants. Third-placed Manica Diamonds, who lost to Bosso on Sunday, return to their new base at Gibbo where they host Bulawayo Chiefs on Saturday while reigning champions FC Platinum are back home at Mandava against Sheasham on the same day.
The Norman Mapeza-coached side FC Platinum was held to a goalless draw by Hwange on Sunday. After a dry spell, followed by a win last Saturday, Chicken Inn are home at Luveve Stadium on Saturday against the coalminers, while giants Caps United, who have had a scrappy season so far, are away to Herentals at Mandava on Sunday.
Fixtures
Saturday: Chicken Inn v Hwange (Luveve), Manica Diamonds v Bulawayo Chiefs (Gibbo), ZPC Kariba v Cranbore Bullets (Nyamhunga), FC Platinum v Sheasham (Mandava)
Sunday: Ngezi Platinum Stars v Highlanders (Baobab), Black Rhinos v Simba Bhora (Bata), Dynamos v Yadah (BF), Triangle v Green Fuel (Gibbo), Herentals v Caps United (Mandava)
Source Byo24News
