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Tadious Manyepo
Sports Reporter
CAPS United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Tenax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
LLOYD Chitembwe embraced the point.
It could go a long way in securing safety for CAPS United.
That is what they deserved at the end of this Castle Lager Premier Soccer League tie at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.
They dished a flat show that lacked everything — entertainment, swag and critically — goals.
The zeal, the passion and the hunger were there, of course, and they even asked the most questions but Makepekepe didn’t have the conviction to deliver.
Chitembwe, who of all the coaches in the league deserves the biggest salute for holding together old players who go for as many as three months without a salary, welcomed the point.
The draw means the Green Machine remain 13th on the log with 31 points to their name. “I think we can take the point, yes, we can take a point although I feel we could have done more,” said Chitembwe.
“Football is like that, sometimes you have it your way sometimes it doesn’t happen your way. “But, I mean we can take a point.
“It’s critical for what we intend to achieve at the of the day.
“They (Tenax) played so well and managed their situations well.
“I feel we could have done well but that’s the nature of football. We should accept the point and move on.”
The match started slowly and Tenax probed first with Panashe Mtasa, especially impressive in the middle of the park.
But with an intact back three deployed by Chitembwe mopping well, the relegation-threatened team found it hard to penetrate with their forays.
At the opposite end, CAPS United threw some hard questions to their guests.
But with Devon Chafa providing the industry in midfield, the grossly overrated Blessing Sarupinda was a huge let down with the former Sekhukhune player failing to execute basic passes.
The second half was much better for Makepekepe but they still failed to hit the net.
Clive Rupiya came closest to scoring when he intelligently flicked a header inside the box but Tenax goalkeeper Panashe Chitimanyemba tipped it over.
The young goalie, who is on loan from Grayham, was again called into action, diving to his left to deny Emmanuel Mandiranga before also saving Rupiya’s low shot.
Tenax seemed content sitting back and hit Makepekepe on the counter and they could have scored in one of the situations when Dexter Marara notched a low cross which found no takers in the box.
Tenax coach Shadreck Magurasave, whose team remained 17th on the log standings, was a disappointed lot.
“We created the chances and failed to score. We should have done better than take a single point home. We will go back to the drawing board and try to restrategise,” he said.
Teams
CAPS United: Tonderai Mateyaunga, Kenneth Bulaji, Ben Musaka, Thulani Joseph, Powell Govere (Lincoln Mangayira 74th min), Devon Chafa, Blessing Sarupinda (Joel Ngodzo 46th min), Phenias Bamusi, Emmanuel Mandiranga (Amon Kambanje 74th min), Clive Rupiya, William Manondo.
Tenax: Panashe Chirimanyemba, Dexter Marara, Pascal Shumbaimwe, Lancelot Chakuamba, Tashinga Pfende, Edison Gavara (Marlvern Dumbura 76th min), Aristotle Manyamba, Panashe Mtasa (Tafadzwa Zhakata 87th min), Iyvine Gwenzi, Joel Munsaka (Misheck Shonga 76th min), Tafadzwa Marira.
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