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Eddie Chikamhi, Harare Bureau
NGEZI Platinum Stars coach, Tonderai Ndiraya, believes his men have turned the corner after the team hired sports psychologists to talk to the players following a lean spell that saw them losing four games on the trot.

The platinum miners started the season on fire by setting a club record 14 consecutive games without defeat which kept them on top of the table for the better part of the race.

However, a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Bulawayo Chiefs on June 3 saw them losing to FC Platinum, Black Rhinos and Herentals.

Ndiraya said the Mhondoro side had to bring in experts to tame the tide.

“Mentally, our boys were affected when we lost our first match, they were not prepared for it and after that we tried to bounce back against FC Platinum.

“But while we thought we had done enough to win that game we just lost it in the final minutes of the match and that really had a huge effect on our players and the team as a whole.

“So I can say we were not really psychologically prepared for the bad moments in football and that led us to lose four matches in a row.

“It was difficult for our players but we have spoken to them. We had to bring in some people to talk to them and I think it really helped.

“We have been fortunate to get sports psychologists to talk to our boys and so far I am quite happy they have responded quite well,” said Ndiraya.

Ngezi Platinum took the advantage of the slip by FC Platinum, who have not won a match since the resumption of the second half matches.

Ngezi have 44 points while third-placed Chicken Inn kept stalking the leaders with a 1-0 win at Mutare City which took them to 37 points.

Giants, Highlanders, also made significant gains with a 1-0 win over Triangle.

They won by the same margin against Herentals the previous week after they had gone on a lean spell of three defeats.

Highlanders now have 35 points followed by Caps United and Triangle on 32.

Ndiraya was relieved the race was opening up again ahead of their next game at home against newboys Nichrut.

“There are still 14 games to go and anything can happen in those games. It is our hope and wish that we continue on the same path.

“We have won two and we hope to win more but it’s not going to be easy for us.

“In the next coming weeks, we are playing very strong opposition. So we are hoping that we keep the grip, we will keep working hard and we will keep grinding results.

“It’s a long road. It’s a tight race and we have demanded some consistency from our players and the two games we have won are really giving us hope that we can have that consistency.

“So it’s important for us to keep on doing what we are doing and hopefully get more positive results coming,” said Ndiraya.

Meanwhile, troubled midfielder Denver Mukamba has been ordered to start training with his Dynamos teammates as the struggling Glamour Boys battle to find a way out of a tight corner.

The player was kicked out of Caps United, where he had been loaned for a year, after he fell out with the Green Machine leadership.

Mukamba had moved to Makepekepe after a spectacular fallout with DeMbare coach, Lloyd Mutasa, at the end of last year.

The Dynamos leadership yesterday gave an instruction that Mukamba should start training with the team again following his return from the abortive loan spell at Caps United.

DeMbare officials said the club’s leadership have facilitated a rehabilitation programme to help him conquer his demons and focus on his career.

The Glamour Boys are also still expecting the return of Cameroonian Christian Epoupa who terminated his contract because of a payment row.

The Harare giants have been struggling to switch into the next gear to put their campaign back on track in the second half of the season.

They have lost eight of the 20 games they have played and have so far dropped seven points from the three games played since the resumption.

Dynamos lost 1-0 at home to Ngezi Platinum Stars on Sunday in a disappointing follow-up the stalemates against Chicken Inn and Shabanie Mine.

The defeat to Ngezi Platinum pushed them down into 13th place on the log standings.

They have 22 points in the bag and are a massive 24 behind log leaders, FC Platinum.

“Probably what we can do is to try and have a target which is in our control and we said from the 17 matches left we would want to finish as the best team.

“Against Ngezi, I think we lost a match. We did not score but I would want to believe that we were not very far from what we wanted to do,’’ said Mutasa.

“Probably the goal made the difference. I would want to believe that if we up our game in terms of goal-scoring, I think we will be a team that can compete.

“There is still hope. I think this is only one of three matches that we have played in the second half and we still have 14 more games to play. I cannot rule anything out.’’

Now, only three points separate them with the teams in the drop zone.

Dynamos dropped three places as they were leapfrogged by Herentals, Yadah and Bulawayo Chiefs after the weekend games.

His team lacked the intent to win a match on Sunday, especially after starting without a natural striker.

Mutasa made a surprise move to start with Emmanuel Mandiranga as his centre forward and the move proved disastrous.

DeMbare have been pathetic in front of goal with only 17 goals in 20 games.

Only two players have managed to score more than one goal and their top goal scorer, Quality Kangadze, has managed only five at this stage.

And with their defence, which used to win them titles, shipping in 23 goals, it means their aggregate is in the negative.

The poor run will only complicate things for Mutasa, who had been fired earlier this year by the previous executive but was given a second chance by the club’s board.

Since his return, the team has won one match under his charge against Nichrut, drawn two and lost one.