BAKARI TARGETS SCALP OF HIS EX-PAYMASTERS

Bruce Chikuni, Sports Reporter

CAPS United forward Jayden Bakari has never lost a Harare Derby.

That was the case when he was still at Dynamos.

And, will that still be the case now that he is at Makepekepe?

It’s a low-key derby which has been dominated by the unrest in the DeMbare camp.

The Dynamos’ Harare Chapter fan club have been leading a social media campaign to urge the club’s fans to boycott the Harare Derby.

They are unhappy with the poor performance of their club who now find themselves in relegation trouble.

DeMbare have won just once all season and the men on their payroll have also scored just once since the season started.

The fans have been pointing the finger of blame at Bernard Marriot, the chairman of the club’s board of directors, and his executive committee led by Moses Maunganidze.

Bakari’s focus is on the game.

“We have been preparing for this game with maximum focus, everyone knows what this fixture means to the club, particularly our fans,” he said.

“This is the most important fixture for us because it means a lot to our fans, they always come with high expectations for a match of this magnitude and we are not planning to let them down.

“I have performed better in this fixture in the past two seasons and it’s something that drives me to do more.”

Dynamos have a new coach after Lloyd “MaBlanyo” Chigowe was fired.

He has been replaced by Saul Chaminuka, a nomadic coach who is considered to be a lightweight gaffer by some DeMbare fans.

That DeMbare are now coached by the likes of Chaminuka and MaBlanyo, after having been the home of such great coaches like Sunday Chidzambwa and Callisto Pasuwa, is a powerful reminder of how the standards have gone down at the club.

CAPS United have also been struggling and, like Dynamos, they have changed their coaching department with Ian Bakala replacing Lloyd Chitembwe.

The Zambian gaffer started his adventure with a point in a tricky derby against Herentals.

But Bakala knows, from his playing days at CAPS United, that this is the big one which matters.

His biggest challenge this week was to keep his men focussed amid the turmoil at Dynamos.

If Bakari, or any of his men, can get a goal then this latest battle against DeMbare could have a happy ending.

After all, the chances of this Dynamos team to score a goal these days are very remote.