We failed in the final third - Pasuwa
Godknows Matarutse • 11 March 2014 7:05AM • 2 comments
HARARE - After watching his side crash out of the African Champions League at the weekend, Dynamos coach Calisto Pasuwa is ruing his blunt strike force which he says "has to improve ahead of the new season."
DeMbare were booted out of the competition after going down 1-0 to Democratic republic of Congo side AS Vita on Sunday at the weekend.
Vita advanced to the second round o the tournament with a 1-0 aggregate win after the first leg had ended 0-0 at the National Sports Stadium a week earlier.
The DRC side, who will now meet South African giants Kaizer Chiefs in the last round of the competition, got the all-important goal from a 38th minute penalty converted by Taddy Etekiama.
Speaking to journalists on Monday soon after their return their return from the DRC, Pasuwa was disappointed with the result but commended his players for showing a fighting spirit.
"Besides the disturbances that characterised the build-up to the match, I feel the boys played their hearts out. They did everything but it was in the final third where they struggled," Pasuwa said.
"I think that's where we lost it. Our finishing was poor. They were moving into the positions but couldn't increase the tempo when going forward. It's unfortunate that we couldn't score but the boys did their best on the day.
"I also felt we lost it here in the first leg when we failed to score. We should have scored goals here. If we could have won here we could have been talking of a different outcome. They got the penalty which I feel was very soft and we lost."
DeMbare have now failed to reach the group stages of the competition four years in a row.
For a club that has in the past reached one final and a semifinal of the same competition, the recent failures have been a bitter pill to swallow for Dynamos.
Pasuwa singled out midfielder Devon Chafa for praise. Chafa was making his first appearance for DeMbare after serving a six-month ban for testing positive to a banned substance.
"Chafa had a good game. He played at the right back and it looked as if he has been playing there ever since. You couldn't tell he has not been playing for that long," added Pasuwa.
Pasuwa, who has led the club to a record three Zimbabwe championships in a row, feels that a lack of adequate preparations hampered DeMbare's quest to reach the last eight stage of the competition.
"We need time in terms of our preparations. If you can see at it, we are having six or seven new players every year and in a month's time we will be playing in the Champions League," he said.
"In football there are no short cuts especially in the Champions League. We need to prepare well if results are to come our way. We need time to gel and also our calendar as compared to other countries is a huge disadvantage."
The club lost valuable time when the players went on strike over unpaid winning bonuses on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pasuwa
AS-Vita
African-Champions-League
true, you need time, but how much time do you need Mr Pasuwa. I think the fact that you have not won a match away from home in the champions league speaks volumes. I honestly believe you are not the one to lead Dynamos.. Ibasa zvaro mu face wangu but dai wa resigna zvako pane kumirira kudzingwa.
jore - 11 March 2014
I feel great when deZanu is humbled so early!
Tony Blair - 12 March 2014