Paulo Jorge Silva
Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter—
NEW Mutare City Rovers coach Taku Shariwa says Paulo Jorge Silva, who is under pressure to win and save his job at Dynamos, should not expect an easy match when the two teams clash at Sakubva tomorrow. Dynamos and Rovers are still winless after the opening two matches of the season but pressure is more on Silva who is sitting on an ultimatum ahead of the meeting.
For Shariwa, this will be his first assignment in charge of the newboys but Silva could be sitting on the Glamour Boys bench for the last time if results don’t go his way in the Eastern Highlands.
The DeMbare executive made it clear that they want nothing short of maximum points in Mutare and in the subsequent matches against CAPS United and Hwange.
Rovers have already made their move by bringing in Shariwa to replace Kennedy Kachara who was demoted to the position of assistant coach following a poor start which saw the side concede seven goals in defeats to Ngezi Platinum Stars (3-0) and Harare City (4-1).
Shariwa said they are still expecting a difficult game against DeMbare despite the Glamour Boys’ poor run in the opening games.
“You can never look down on Dynamos no matter what is happening in their camp. It’s the kind of team that can spring back from the troubles in a single game.
“They have done it time and again over the years and sometimes going all the way to win the championship after experiencing such challenges.
“So we don’t have to read much into whatever they are going through. We need to be on our guard,” said Shariwa.
Rovers are playing in the top-flight for the first time but their first impressions have been disappointing.
They repeated the same error that has cost their predecessors like Whawha, Flame Lily and Dongo by refusing to open the purse during the pre-season to beef up their stocks.
Shariwa knows that and has tried without success during the week to register former Dynamos defender William Mapfumo and ex-Harare City forward Scholar Hadebe who are currently free agents.
However, the Mutare side may need to look up to some Premiership veterans like Caleb Masocha, Smart Muchabaiwa, Beavan Chirere, Wonder Sithole, Patrick Alifasi, Steven “Dealer” Sibanda and former Dynamos goalkeeper Phillip Nhete who are in their squad.
“Just like Dynamos we are yet to win a match and our aim is to start winning as well. But playing Dynamos is self-motivating because that is where players get to be noticed.
“I am sure our players are psyched up. Games against Dynamos are a good platform to shine. So we hope to turn things around.
“We have no injuries in our team. Everyone is up for the game. It’s only unfortunate that we had wanted to beef up with some free agents but we were not successful. Our team need more experienced players who have seen it all in the topflight.
“But as you can see, our team is still work in progress. The overall goal is to survive relegation at the end of the season. We have leaked goals in the first two games where we conceded seven and scored one. Definitely something needs to be done about this,” said Shariwa.
Pressure is mounting in their opponents’ camp and the DeMbare technical team was not willing to talk about the situation in their camp after they were served with the ultimatums.
Dynamos have been disappointing, especially in front of goal, as they have failed to score in the last five league and cup games that were reviewed by the club’s executive during midweek.
Strikers Rodreck Mutuma, Kelvin Bulaji and Farai Mupasiri should be feeling the heat and will need to summon all their talents to help get the breakthrough.
Silva’s options are limited with the unavailability of Richard Kawondera.
The former Triangle man will serve his second suspension for the red card he picked in the first match at Chicken Inn.
DeMbare lost their opening match of the season 3-0 to Chicken Inn and then drew 0-0 at home with David Mandigora’s Triangle.