Dynamos to spy on Chiefs

Thato Kala | Wednesday January 22, 2014 16:22

 

Dynamos are convinced the tie presents a perfect stage to spy on the defending Botswana champions and will send assistant coach Philemon Mutyakureva to Gaborone to watch the February 2 encounter.

The former Champions League finalists host the first leg tie in Harare the following week before visiting Chiefs in the next weekend. Dynamos manager Richard Chihoro confirmed their plans this weekend saying they were out to study their opponents before the first leg clash.

“We are trying to gather as much information as we can on Chiefs. We believe sending Philemon there will help us a lot,” he said.

Chiefs’ midfield kingpin Elvis Meleka is aware of Dynamos’ plans, but insists the game against Rollers will not give away much.

“They will watch us play Rollers, but the way we will approach the CAF game against them will be totally different. A league match and a CAF tie are totally different, so that does not bother us at all,” Meleka told Mmegi Sport.

Meleka believes they have an advantage over their opponents whose preparations have not gone into full swing with seven of their players away with the national team.

Their coach Callisto Pasuwa, is also away with the Warriors at the African Nations Championships (CHAN) finals in South Africa. The league in Zimbabwe is on a break and only resumes in March. Dynamos started training a fortnight ago and Meleka is convinced they are better prepared for the tie.

The last time Dynamos visited Botswana was in May 2010 when they played Gaborone United in the first round of the Champions League. They prevailed 5-1 on aggregate.

Just like Chiefs, the Harare giants collapsed in the first round of the tournament last year. Chiefs succumbed to a 7-0 aggregate defeat to seasoned campaigners TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo and will be hoping for a better run this time around.