Mablanyo Warns Of Player Burnout As Fixtures Pile Up For DeMbare
Dynamos coach Lloyd “Mablanyo” Chigowe is concerned about potential player burnout due to fixture congestion, as Dynamos remains the only local club competing in three different tournaments.
The Glamour Boys are striving to end the season strongly while defending their Chibuku Super Cup title, which they won in 2023, and aiming to advance to the group stage of the 2024/25 CAF Confederation Cup.
Dynamos recently resumed domestic competition with a 1-0 victory over Chegutu Pirates at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
While most local teams are observing the international break this week, Dynamos will face ZPC Kariba in a rescheduled Chibuku Super Cup match on Wednesday, September 4.
They are also scheduled to play another fixture on September 11, just four days before their away clash with Orapa United of Botswana in the CAF Confederation Cup second round.
The fixture backlog is expected to grow further, as their upcoming league matches against Ngezi Platinum Stars and Chicken Inn have been postponed.
Speaking in an interview with The Herald Chigowe said ZIFA and the PSL should take Dynamos’ situation into account as the club navigates the challenges of competing in multiple tournaments. He said:
Success invites a lot of pressure. The fact that we are still in the Confederation Cup means we have piled up fixtures going forward but we will try to work as scientifically as possible in terms of recovery management.
We have another game here at Rufaro on Wednesday (tomorrow); another humdinger because ZPC Kariba will be motivated to play Dynamos.
But we have to go over it. Hopefully, the mother body (ZIFA) and the PSL will look into the fixture congestion.
Dynamos are representing the nation and at times they must relax a little bit on some of the rules and allow us recovery time, especially the fact that we are asked to play (in Gweru) on September 11 when we have a (Confederation Cup) fixture on September 15.
Chigowe said they are not underestimating Orapa United given that the Botswana club qualified for the second-round courtesy of a 3-1 win over Foresters of Seychelles. Said Chigowe:
These boys are very solid in terms of defending their goal. They are a team that is prepared to work very hard, and I think all things being equal we will not underestimate Orapa United.
They are there on merit. They have qualified, so we will not take them lightly and we will give everything to make sure Zimbabwe is represented in the mini-league, and that will improve the ranking of our club sides in Africa.
If we do not get into the group stage, then all the effort that we have put in would have gone to waste.
Chigowe anticipates a difficult finish in the domestic competitions where the Glamour Boys are seventh in the league table, 16 points adrift of log leaders Simba Bhora going into the last 10 games. He said:
Everybody is motivated to play against Dynamos. So, we are looking forward to 10 gruelling league matches until the end of the season.
A team that has been losing even by wide margins will always feel motivated to play against Dynamos, and worse than we are playing higher in the Confederation Cup it has become a marker. So, we are a marked team. We expect much more of that.
Ngezi Platinum Stars, who were recently eliminated from the CAF Champions League after a penalty shootout defeat to AS Maniema of the DRC, will host Bulawayo Chiefs in a rescheduled Chibuku Super Cup First Round match. The match will be played at Baobab Stadium on Thursday.
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