Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo in BULAWAYO
Highlanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
CAPS United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 2
IT has been a good 11 years of continuous failure to deliver a league win for CAPS United against Highlanders at Barbourfields.
But this time the Green Machine walked in with the right formulae, delivering a deserved win that helped them extend their lead at the top to four points yesterday.
Kudzai Chigwida and Dominic Njaliwa scored for the guests while Darlington Mukuli got the consolation for the hosts.
It was a match worth everything in gold with Emagumeni filled to the rafters, not least, as Bosso had walked into it after eight match days of not tasting defeat.
Makepekepe, perched at the top of the Premiership table, didn’t have any nerves going into this game, as they knew they were going to stay up anyway even with a defeat after second-placed Hardrock failed to beat Manica Diamonds on Saturday.
And the freedom allowed them to show a lot of organisation, remaining calm even when their hosts attempted to threaten.
It was one of those games that Makepekepe brought everything to the fore; vigour, energy and tact.
They dominated the ball. They dominated the passes. They were always first class in tackles and were smart on the ball, winning free kicks in good areas, two of which resulted in the goals.
Ishmael Wadi, as he has been for all the games this season, was difficult to handle on the left flank. He was fouled several times, and just 30 minutes into it, he won one that proved key.
Talent Chamboko, who had a good day of his own in the office, flighted into the box, and Chigwida was lurking there to bundle the effort home. That was a dividend to their dominance which could otherwise have come moments into the game when Highlanders goalkeeper Aaron Ngwenya fumbled a save and Njaliwa’s lob hit the crossbar.
Makepekepe never changed tact after breaking the ice. They became more eager, hungrier and even more aggressive as they looked for a cushion.
Bosso, meanwhile, never conceded such bullying.
They had their own ace in the pack in Prince Ndlovu. The midfielder has matured and was central to all Highlanders attacks.
But then CAPS United goalkeeper Wallace Magalane, one man who has been raising his hand for the Warriors coach Marian Marinica, was at his usual best.
His ability to read the game and super saves that he made even got special mention from Highlanders coach Benjani Mwaruwari.
And for CAPS United gaffer Takesure Chiragwi, the win was special given he had failed to beat Highlanders during his entire time at Ngezi Platinum Stars and leading a team that had never won a single game against Bosso at Barbourfields in more than a decade.
“Firstly, I want to thank God who gave us the opportunity to play today and also the strength that they gave to the players, and also give credit to the players for a very good fighting spirit and also tactical discipline,” said Chiragwi.
“It was a very difficult match to play in the field but what you need to do is to make sure you are up in terms of tactical awareness with and without the ball, in transition.
“We realised that they were so good in terms of going forward using their wing-play and we tried to make sure that we kept our balance and tries to get them in a counter-attack.
“That’s exactly what we did and we managed to get two goals we had a very good first half coming into second half.
“They were also coming probably to get an equaliser, but through that, we managed also to get another goal, and we had an advantage of another cushion so they kept on coming and playing away now we needed to be very cautious in terms of how going to manage the game but we did very well.
“The players were very resilient in terms of understanding how to keep their shape and let them play in their own half to make sure that all the spaces were closed, and also a good credit to the goalkeeper (Magalane) when they got the set-pieces which is actually one of their strengths.”
Mwaruwari was disappointed after losing his first game of the season especially that coming after his charges had walloped local rivals Chicken Inn 3-1 in midweek.
He felt Bosso had a chance to equalise, especially with intelligent play in the final quarter or so of the match after Mukuli’s goal from outside the box had given them hopes.
Before Mukuli’s left-footed goal, Makepekepe had made sure Highlanders would find it difficult to get anything with Njaliwa heading in, his effort going via the inside of the upright, off a good free kick from Brian Kadamanja. Makepekepe, now on 22 points in nine games, have a four-point cushion over second-placed Hardrock.
Teams
Highlanders
Aaron Ngwenya, Nomore Chinyerere, Mongameli Tshuma, Prince Ndlovu, Kudakwashe Mahachi, Andrew Mbeba (Mvelo Khoza 46min), Rainsome Pavari, Tawanda Shenje, Never Rauzhi (Benjamin Adeogun 78min), Darlington Mukuli, Issac Ngoma
CAPS United
Wallace Magalane, Brian Kadamanja, Nyasha Gurende, Talent Chamboko, Obriel Chirinda (Delic Murimba 54min), Richard Hachiro (Wesley Milanzi 78min) Dominic Njaliwa, Chawanangwa Kaonga, Takunda Benhura, Ishmael Wadi (Brett Amidu 78min)
