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Violence broke out two minutes after regulation time when referee Tabani Mnkantjo failed to blow for a handball playing Joel Ngodzo advantage in the process Highlanders earning a corner. A flurry of missiles was thrown onto the field as Highlanders supporters’ tempers had seemingly been raised by a number of decisions made earlier that appeared to favour Dynamos.
One was a first half penalty appeal after Guthrie Zhokinyu appeared to have used his hand to block the ball. The serious one that really took the stuffing out of a Highlanders side whose technical bench of Mohamed Fathi and Mkhuphali Masuku was Dynamos’ first goal in the 84th m inute.

Francis Kanda was fouled and Gift Lunga played the ball out of touch surprisingly in his own half. He was to be a culprit when after confusion caused by the two referees close to the scene, Dynamos scored the equaliser — a stunning volley of rare quality scored by Evans Gwekwerere.
He cancelled out a Francis Kanda opener for Highlanders in the 27th minute.

Mnkantjo appeared to signal a Highlanders throw-in but his assistant who had noted that Bosso were the last to play the ball, waved to signal that it was the visitors’ ball. In a flash Dynamos took the throw and from an acute angle, Gwekwerere out of sorts for the better part of the afternoon let go one of the best goals scored at Barbourfields Stadium. His cracker would compete favourably with Ngodzo’s against Douglas Warriors a fortnight ago.

Highlanders were later dealt a sad blow in the 87th minute when Zhokinyu made them pay for sloppy defending rising high above the home team’s defence to beat Arial Sibanda with a powerful header.
The match was a tale of two halves with Highlanders dominant in the first.
Dynamos were by far the better team in the second with the introduction of Benjamin Marere and Desmond Maringwa turning around their play.
Dynamos were however the first to take the initiative in the opening stages of the match with former Jomo Cosmos striker Gwekwerere testing Sibanda with a 30-metre shot that the Highlanders goalkeeper went for airborne, diving to the right to draw a round of applause from the Highlanders fans in the 13 000 strong crowd.

A neat passing attack in the 18th minute involving Eric Mudzingwa saw four passes between Rahman Kutsanzira and Kanda with the Highlanders gunman setting up the winder. Kutsanzira did not do justice to the pass and Dynamos lived to pick up the pieces again.
Highlanders eventually got the lead in the 27th minute when Joel Ngodzo took a corner kick on the left flank. He directed it to the far post and impressive Highlanders central defender Innocent Mapuranga nodded it back to the centre in the box with Kanda obliging with his first goal for Highlanders — a well-executed header that gave Washington Arubi no chance in goal.
Bosso came back hunting eight minutes later with Mudzingwa blazing over the bar in point blank range. He had been set up by Kanda who had exchanged some good passes on the right with workaholic Mudzingwa.

Dynamos’ turn to score came in the 43rd minute and Gwekwerere shot wide with an acrobatic kick in the box after being set up from the right flank by Murape Murape.
Bosso came close to making it 2-0 in the 49th minute when Ngodzo’s full-bloodied effort from a deadball situation 25 metres out missed the upright by a few inches with Zimbabwe goalkeeper Arubi beaten.
Lunga came close on 67 minutes with Arubi denying him with a clean catch.

In the 81st minute Dynamos’ stocky leftback Brighton Tuwaya waltzed his way past the Bosso midfield and found room to pull the trigger. His effort went close to the left side post but Dynamos were not finished as they kept on hunting and were duly rewarded for their industry with a superb Gwekwerere strike in the 84th minute.
Substitute Simba Gate failed to finish off a pass inside the box sending a poor shot wide in a good scoring position inside the box.
Dynamos appeared to have earned themselves maximum points with Zhokinyu’s goal three minutes from full time with the header from a corner.
Two minutes from full time fans on the Soweto stand sent both Highlanders and Dynamos players scurrying for cover with a flurry of missiles.

It was the second missile throwing incident of the afternoon after Dynamos supporters had done so earlier on as yet another piece of hooliganism was exhibited.
Fans then tried to pull down the fence on the Soweto end with skirmishes seen between police, Bosso marshals and fans on the Soweto stand.
In the ensuing commotion a marshal fell victim to friendly fire.

Police who seemed hesistant to pick up the hooligans, had to disperse fans from that stand and in the end some who were evidently not violent and had their hands up in surrender stance, were not spared the water powerjets from the special crowd control tankers from Unit Fairbridge.
The tankers then pursued the fans outside the stadium where surprisingly eight- to 12-year-olds who had not been in the stadium were seen throwing stones at the tankers. Some teargas canisters fired on the eastern end of the stadium when Highlanders were ready to take their corner kick forced fans on the big stand opposite the grand stand and those on the Hurricanes end where the visiting teams’ supporters sit were forced to scale the fence onto the pitch. Some then forced their way into the tunnel that leads outside and Lady Luck smiled on them as there were no recorded casualties with a few especially those with asthma affected.

Mnkantjo in concurrence with his match assessor decided that the match could no longer proceed as darkness had also crept in.
It was another sad day for the Zimbabwean game as hooliganism took its toll on a good match.
Surprisingly no senior Highlanders official could be seen trying to calm down tempers as their team’s supporters went berserk.

Clubs especially Dynamos and Highlanders still have a long way in teaching their followers to respect the referees’ decisions.
The wisdom of the Premier Soccer League management committee to fixture the two teams hardly three weeks after their BancABC Sup8r semi-final clash which was abandoned will be questioned. A decision is yet to be made after Highlanders felt natural justice had been infringed on when an arbitration committee found them responsible for the abandoned match. Yet on the day both teams had contributed to one hour of playing time wasted by stoppages resulting in the referee of the day Bryton Malandule doing the most sensible thing of saying play could not continue since darkness had crept in.
Teams

Highlanders: A Sibanda, B Choto, F Kanda (S Gate 85th minute), R Kutsanzira (P Kabwe 46th minute), G Lunga, I Mapuranga, E Mudzingwa, M Mupera, B Ndlovu, J Ngodzo, Z Ngodzo
Dynamos: W Arubi, P Sithole, B Tuwaya, E Mashiri (K Banda 74th minute), M Murape, T Kamusoko (D Maringwa 46th minute), E Gwekwerere, W Sithole (B Marere 46th minute), G Zhokinyu, M Mahala, T Mamvura.