adminGrace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
CAPS United now have a group of players who have felt how good I feels to win the Harare Derby and, having suffered in the past at the hands of their rivals, they believe time is now ripe to plunge a dagger into the heart of the Glamour Boys.
The two biggest clubs in the capital clash again, in what analysts believe would be a classic at Rufaro on Sunday, with both sides firmly in the running for the Castle Lager Premier League soccer title.
The Green Machine have not beaten their big rivals, in a league match since Nyasha Mushekwi’s double powered them to victory at Rufaro at the same venue in 2009, and their fans have watched from a distance in the past two years as Dynamos won back-to-back League and Cup double.
But it’s also true that CAPS United have never put themselves in prime position, to challenge for the title, as much as they have done this year and that this fixture comes with the two giants separated by just three points has added a bit of spice to the duel.
There is a feeling within the Green Machine, who are unbeaten in 10 league matches, that this is their moment to beat their big rivals and there was a certain buzz at Danny Bismarck yesterday as the players went through their paces.
The team began their session with a long motivational session from their coaches before they took to the pitch.
Skipper Tapuwa Kumbuyani, one of the long serving members of the team, doesn’t know how a Harare derby victory tastes even though he has been around at the Green Machine for some time now.
And that is also true of the man who leads the team in his absence, Tawanda “Rambo” Munyanduri and the man who is third in line of the leadership of players, Rahman Kutsanzira.
“What has made us reach this far is we are playing as a unit. We don’t rely on individuals, even for scoring goals, we don’t wait for the strikers to do that,” said Munyanduri.
“We have to work together as a team for a result.
“We are treating this game as we usually do the other games, it is just like any other matches. We are geared up. We want a positive result.
“For the past games we have been losing but we are looking for a win now. All the defeats are now in the past. We are on top of the situation now and everyone should just concentrate.”
The former Monomotapa defender said what his team needed was just the confidence that they can go out there and win this game for themselves and also for their fans who have suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of their rivals.
“The young players should just not feel intimidated by the crowd and play their game,” said Munyanduri.
Former Highlanders’ midfielder, Kutsanzira, appears to have found the form that made him one of the best players in the domestic Premiership when he was turning out for Highlanders after initially struggling to adjust to life in the capital.
He hasn’t won a Harare Derby, since his arrival at Makepekepe, and believes this is the moment that his teammates should seize and deliver for their fans.
“Team work and faith has helped us to do well this season. We don’t want to say much before the game but would rather do the talking on the pitch,” said Kutsanzira.
The midfielder says they owe it to their fans to win this big game because they have supported them in trying times.
The arrival of goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube has provided CAPS United with a lot of authority at the back and the former Masvingo United and FC Platinum ‘keeper has revived his career and this has seen him breaking into the national team set-up.
CAPS United have been doing their work quietly and that has helped them a lot because they have not been subjected to the kind of pressure that their rivals like Dynamos and Highlanders have had to deal with this season.
Given that not many expected the Green Machine to challenge for the title, they were able to build their campaign without any pressure but since they stitched their 10-game unbeaten run, and moved within three points of the leaders, people have begun to watch them closely.
Inevitably, expectations among their fans have started to rise, as they begin to believe that they have a team that could win the league title, and that comes with a weight that they now need to carry beginning on Sunday.
If they can beat DeMbare then they would have moved a mountain.
Highly-rated left-back Ronald Pfumbidzai pulled out of the training session yesterday complaining of a groin strain but is expected to recover in time to take his place in the starting XI.
Fixtures
Saturday
Chicken Inn v Black Rhinos (Luveve), Tripple B v Hwange (Dulibadzimu), Shabanie Mine v Motor Action (Maglas)
Sunday
How Mine v Highlanders (Barboufields), Dynamos v CAPS United (Rufaro, SS9), Triangle v Harare City (Gibbo), FC Platinum v Monomotapa (Mandava),
Monday
Black Mambas v Buffaloes (Morris Depot, SS9)
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