Tonderai Ndiraya’s face conveyed happiness at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.
The reigning coach of the year guided Scottland to their consecutive 2–1 come-from-behind victory in the Castle Lager Premiership, after Mabvira fought back from conceding early in the game, to eventually winning it 2-1 over Highlanders.
Consequently, Scottland have accumulated six points from their last two matches and are firmly back in the title race – a cause which has been boosted by the PSL awarding them three points on a 3-0 scoreline, for their abandoned match against Chicken Inn on May 23.
Naturally, anyone would expect Ndiraya’s facial configuration to resemble joy and fulfillment.
That was the case in his post-match interview yesterday, until he was asked about the possibility of Dynamos being relegated.
The seemingly out-of-sorts Harare giants, who have won just two of their 21 matches this season, need to win at least eight of their remaining 13 to guarantee their survival.
Ndiraya’s downturned gaze, followed by the sudden lowering of his voice, told a story of sadness for his beloved Dynamos- a club he played for and coached.
“You have put me in a very tight corner, for obvious reasons, considering my attachment to Dynamos, it is the club I come from,” said Ndiraya.
“Like you rightly said, they need a miracle to survive and I don’t know where that miracle will come from, but it would be very sad if they get relegated.
“There is no Zimbabwean football without Dynamos. They are one of the biggest teams in the country, and their relegation would be sad for the league as well as Zimbabwean football at large,” he added.
Ndiraya insists the problems at DeMbare are self-inflicted.
“The people administering the club brought it to where it is now, and I hope they bring it out of this mess,” said Ndiraya.
“Dynamos are one of the pioneers of the Premier Soccer League, and it would be sad not to have them in the same league.
“Even all these teams that are getting promoted get the inspiration to join the league from wanting to play against Dynamos.
“It would be a sad day for football if Dynamos were to get relegated, and I hope that doesn’t happen,” Ndiraya added.
