THE clash between Dynamos and Hwange at Rufaro on Sunday comes with its own memories.

It marks exactly 18 weeks after Portuguese coach Paulo Jorge Silva took charge of the Premiership giants for the last time and clashed with his assistant Lloyd Mutasa hours later.

It was just one of the many clashes with players and coaches that had become daily bread at DeMbare.

“We had drawn the match at the Colliery and we were just reviewing the match. Silva’s point seemed to be based on the fact that we needed to clear balls quickly but Mutasa’s view was that if it’s more of us against one player, we needed to pass the ball,” said a source, then.

The outburst by Silva after being opposed was to be one last piece of drama.

Mutasa comes face to face with the same opponent, now as head coach.

A lot of things have changed.

 •In many ways, though out of the league race, this is a more improved Dynamos side. Mutasa failed to cover up for lost ground in those first five matches, but they have been one of the top four teams since then.

 •DeMbare signed a number of players during off-season to replace players that moved, captain Augustine Mbara, midfielder Walter Mukanga and others that received the axe. Denver Mukamba bounced back in the process.

 •Despite the changes, Mutasa has given up on expecting goals from strikers and resorted to using a false nine for his games.

 •Hwange have also since lost their coach Nation Dube who is suspended pending a court case on match fixing.

On Sunday DeMbare go in as favourites against a Hwange side affected by players’ industrial action over unpaid dues.

“We are just trying to be consistent at home. We know Hwange are not easy opponents and that we have been blowing hot and cold, but all the same we want to appease our loyal fans who have remained behind this team irrespective of the fact that we no longer fighting for the league title. So we would want to give it our best in the remaining matches,” Mutasa told The Herald this week.

DeMbare could go on to win against Hwange but what is certain is they could record an unwanted record by the end of the weekend matches.

If FC Platinum and CAPS United also win their respective games, it will be the first time in a decade that they will be finishing the season outside the top two.

As things stand, they can simply delay the inevitable as the two front runners are way ahead – 12 point gap in the case of CAPS United and 13 points in the case of log leaders FC Platinum.