ALWYN MABEHLA
LAST Sunday curtains came down on the 2023 Premier Soccer League (PSL) with a momentous Chibuku Super Cup victory for Dynamos over league winners Ngezi Platinum.
You could feel that Ngezi, after all their hard work and professionalism, perhaps deserved a league and cup double. But when Dynamos are in your way, in a cup final for a major trophy, it’s never easy to deny the Harare giants.
The season came with its fair share of drama as at one stage, Harare teams were forced to shift base from the capital to adopt homes in Zvishavane, Gweru, Ngezi and Bulawayo because of the country’s stadia crisis.
This was a season where CAPS United played Highlanders at “home” and shockingly at Barbourfields.
Spectacularly, it is the same season in which Dynamos found themselves calling Barbourfields Stadium home, the fortress of their greatest rivals Highlanders.
It is the same season that Highlanders broke local records for match attendances. The same Bosso would however, flatter to deceive, despite going on a 19-game unbeaten run and eventually running out of steam in the crucial stage of the season.
And sadly, the marriage between Portuguese coach Baltemar Brito and Bosso ended in a divorce this past week. Hopefully, Bosso will find it them to rise above standards of this past season to reclaim glory, having won their last league title in 2006.
In football it is often believed that it’s better to be a lucky manager than a good one, and certainly CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe might look back and count himself lucky at how he managed to finish the season at the Green Machine.
While he is not entirely a bad coach, Chitembwe, his side has been inconsistent over the past two seasons, and it is easy to forget that he is a title-winning coach at the club.
Chitembwe would be the first to admit there was an air of good fortune as his aging Makepekepe squad at one stage flirted with relegation. For all their troubles, the CAPS United faithful, would surely love to forget 2023 in a hurry, as this was a year in which they lost three times to their sworn enemies Dynamos without even scoring a goal.
Dynamos will look back and appease their huge ego with the Chibuku Super Cup victory over Ngezi Platinum in the penultimate game of the season.
At the start of the season, DeMbare made 10 signings as they looked to strong candidates wrestle the league title from FC Platinum. However, they fired head coach Herbert Maruwa with the side sitting in fourth position.
The Chibuku trophy should fuel Dynamos’ desire to go for league glory next season.
Ngezi Platinum coach Takesure Chiragwi, surely turned himself into a coach of repute, as he managed to bring an elusive league title to Baobab.
Chiragwi, virtually a lightweight, both in stature and track record, showed his tactical shrewdness and understated reading of the game to guide Madamburo to its historic first title.
Now that the 2023 season is done, hopefully, the forthcoming season will see better standards in the quality of play. We can’t have the league’s top marksman scoring a measly 13 goals.
As we say goodbye to the 2023 season, hearty congratulations to Takesure Chirwagwi and his gallant Ngezi Platinum players as well as Genesis Mangombe and his DeMbare troops.
