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STRIKER Roderick Mutuma grabbed a brace as Dynamos recovered from a goal down to pile the misery on rivals CAPS United in an exciting Castle Lager Premiership derby at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.

Mutuma was the hero for the Glamour Boys who had looked down and out after one of their former sons Evans Gwekwerere had put Makepekepe ahead in the 59th minute, to make the breakthrough following a slow start from both sides which produced no goals in the opening half.
CAPS, however, looked the hungrier of the two sides as they dominated the first half and created a lot of chances that went begging.

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But as the game approached the hour mark Gwekwerere pounced when goalkeeper Washington Arubi spilled David Rediyoni’s shot and, without room for mistakes in the penalty area, he struck the roof of the nets with a well taken shot to send the green half of the stadium into euphoria.
But the celebrations were cut short when Mutuma received the ball from the right flank and placed it beyond the reach of goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda in the 73rd minute.

He was back to his best again in the 88th minute when he controlled a pass from Martin Vengesai before beating Sibanda hands down with another low shot, which sent the blue half into delirium.
At least, fans from both sides left the giant stadium with some talking points from the match after the teams dished out a better show compared to a drab first leg which was won 1-0 by Dynamos through a fortuitous 88th minute strike from Tawanda Muparati.

Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa, who celebrated both goals with great excitement, was over the moon after the final whistle and said the team played well after watching his charges complete a double and maintain their two-year stranglehold in the famous Harare derbies.
“As a former Dynamos son, it means a lot to beat CAPS United and this victory will certainly give confidence to both the players and the technical team.

“I think this was a better performance than the first leg because there was too much pressure in that match and the players could not produce their best.
“But we played well today. It was unfortunate that we conceded first and I give credit to the team because the goal actually seemed to have spurred them to work harder and they came back to win the match,” said Mutasa.

Dynamos’ win ensured they maintained their position on the log table, in third place with 29 points from 17 games.
DeMbare missed the services of midfielders Archieford Gutu, who was withdrawn from the team at the last minute to attend trials in Europe, while Denver Mukamba was suspended but the pair’s absence could not hold them back from victory.

Mutuma has now scored six league goals but interestingly, he was on target in only three matches and has grabbed braces in those instances.
CAPS remained seventh on the table despite the defeat with 22 points from 17 outings.
The Green Machine who missed defenders Edmore Chafungamoyo and David Sengu through red cards from their previous match against Gunners threw into the fray three new players – Asani Nhongo, Tapiwa

Kumbuyani and Tawanda Munyanduri – into the starting line-up to steady the team.
Makepeke appeared to dominate the exchanges with David Rediyoni and Evans Gwekwerere twice coming close.

They could have punished the hosts in the 23rd minute when exciting midfielder Marvel Samaneka intercepted a Dynamos build up and released Gwekwerere but the striker misdirected his shot.
Rediyoni then unleashed a ferocious freekick from about 40m, which goalkeeper Arubi, who looked off form yesterday, could only palm out for corner kick.

The former Gunners midfielder looked more dangerous with the dead ball than CAPS’ specialist Sibanda and crashed another shot against the crossbar from a similar distance with Arubi beaten after Makepekepe had won a freekick in the 53rd minute.

Gwekwerere had spurned another chance three minutes earlier when he sent his effort wide from a cross by Douglas Walaza.
But Dynamos had one of their best chances in the 48th minute when Muparati weaved his way past a cluster of CAPS United players but his shot went just wide.

Hard-running winger Vengesai was the first to test the CAPS’ goal in the 20th minute but he shot weakly at Sibanda after a good move started by leftback Augustine Mbara.
DeMbare also threatened their opposition when goalkeeper Sibanda stretched to tip over the bar Farayi Vimisayi’s dipping shot.

CAPS who parted ways with Moses Chunga last month extended their winless streak to five league matches. New coaches Maxwell Takaendesa and Alois Bunjira have managed one point from their three games in charge, from a draw against Chunga’s Gunners in their first assignment away at Lafarge.
“The boys put up a spirited fight and unfortunately we couldn’t score. This was a much better performances from the previous games that we had played but we just couldn’t win it.

“We had our chances and they had theirs but the difference is that they scored twice and we couldn’t convert most of the opportunities.
“Of course Chafungamoyo and Sengu are part of the team but we were not worried much about the changes because we threw in 11 players and they had 11, but we lost the game.

“Every coach wants to win. We played well and we hope the players will continue in this form and positive results,” said Takaendesa.
Teams:

Dynamos
W. Arubi, T. Magorimbo, A. Mbara, G. Zhokinyi, G. Magariro, D. Chafa (G. Madamombe, 68th minute), F. Vimisayi, T. Muparati, M. Vengesai, M. Murape (T. Mabvura, 74th minute), R. Mutuma
CAPS United
E. Sibanda, T. Kumbuyani, D. Walaza, T. Munyaduri, N. Mukumbi, S. Alimenda, M. Samaneka, A. Nhongo (G. Mhangani, 76th minute), M. Samaneka, D. Rediyoni (C. Chiutsa, 79th minute), E. Gwekwerere (L. Tsipa, 87th minute).