HARARE giants Dynamos bounced back in spectacular fashion, from a five-goal mauling, to get their Castle Lager Premiership campaign off to a flying start at a rain-soaked Ascot. Frank Agyemang and Jairos Kasondo were on target as the Glamour Boys rallied from a goal down to beat a TelOne side coached by their former coach Herbert Maruwa.
Genesis Mangombe, who replaced Maruwa and was then fired and rehired, said the conditions made it difficult for him to judge his side.
“I am happy that we collected maximum points away from home,” said Mangombe.
“It was not really a match where you analyse performance because the pitch was badly affected by the rain.
“It was difficult for the players in many aspects, so today it was more about fighting for the result and we managed to do that.”
Maruwa was a frustrated man.
“It is always painful to lose, especially at the beginning of the season,” he said.
“But the pitch was very difficult for the kind of football we wanted to play. We cannot blame the players too much. We go back, work on the mistakes and prepare for the next match.”
Dynamos will take encouragement from the performances of some of their new faces, several of whom looked comfortable in the demanding conditions as they begin settling into the squad.
The fixture had been scheduled for Saturday but a waterlogged pitch forced a postponement and when light rain returned early yesterday morning, there were fears the game could be moved again.
It took TelOne barely two minutes to take advantage of the slippery conditions.
A quick move caught Dynamos flat and Jerry Chipangura reacted first inside the box, squeezing the ball past the goalkeeper to give the Wifi Boys a dream start and briefly lift the mood among the home supporters who had braved the chilly and we weather conditions.
For a while it looked as if TelOne might ride that early momentum.
Instead the game slowly tilted the other way as Dynamos settled, began to hold the ball better in midfield and started asking questions down the flanks where the wet surface made defending awkward.
