By Precious Bwale
Power Dynamos head coach Oswald Mutapa has challenged his players to be more clinical after Abayellow were held to a 1-1 draw by TP Mazembe in a pre-season friendly.
Power Dynamos took the lead in the 63rd minute when Amine Hiver opened his scoring account for the club, but Mazembe responded five minutes from time through Marc Diouf Arona, who converted from the penalty spot after Kafunti Saisada was adjudged to have committed a foul inside the box.
Despite surrendering the lead late on, Mutapa was pleased with the test provided by the Congolese champions, but felt his side should have won comfortably given the number of chances created.
“It was a very good game. We wanted to be tested and I think they tested us, and equally we tested them,” Mutapa said.
“But I feel it is a game we could have won by a big margin. They had no chance, maybe not even a shot at goal. We had chances to score even six, but we didn’t. That is something we have to work on.”
The Power Dynamos coach warned that failing to convert chances and conceding avoidable fouls could prove costly when the team turns its attention to CAF Champions League football.
“You have those chances, bury them and you are comfortable. In the CAF Champions League, silly mistakes like that one, when it falls on the ground, you are playing away, it is a penalty,” he said.
Mutapa believes the friendly was particularly valuable after Power Dynamos faced a different challenge in the four-club pre-season tournament, where AS Simba adopted a defensive approach.
“They came here, but they never tested us. They were sitting all ten in their own half. Very difficult, but you need to see where you are not doing well,” he said.
“I guess this game has given us the feel that you can be exposed at times.”
Mutapa’s main takeaway was therefore the need to improve his team’s finishing, insisting the volume of chances being created is a positive sign.
“If we score three goals, I’m happy with it. Three goals is enough for us to win a game,” he said.
“But like I said, this is a team that is able to create a lot of chances and that is where we need to work on. We create chances, we score. I feel we created maybe six or seven, but we didn’t take those chances.”
For Mutapa, the lack of goals is not yet a major concern because his team is consistently getting into scoring positions.
“A concern is when you are not even creating chances, but if you create chances, you just have to work on your scoring abilities in training,” he added.
The draw provided another useful test for Power Dynamos as preparations continue ahead of the new season and their CAF Champions League campaign.
