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Eddie Chikamhi, Senior Sports Reporter
CAPS Utd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 3
Highlanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(2) 2
VETERAN Lot Chiwunga brought the house down at Rufaro yesterday with an added time strike that sealed a spirited comeback victory for CAPS United in a dazzling finish to a Castle Lager Premiership contest against old foes Highlanders.
Chiwunga was the hero as the Green Machine snatched a hard-fought win from the jaws of defeat.
The winning goal came just moments after Junior Bunjira had brought Makepekepe back in the game, thanks to a well-taken header at the back post with five minutes of regulation time remaining. Makepekepe had trailed for the most of the game courtesy of a Lynoth Chikuhwa brace inside the opening 32 minutes.
They looked down and out early on before the league’s top scorer William Manondo gave them a ray of hope from the penalty spot just before the breather. And the purple run continued yesterday as Makepekepe celebrated a fourth win in their last five league matches.
The spirited fightback yesterday was just out of this world, as the supporters went bezerk while ecstatic players hoisted their coach Lloyd Chitembwe from the middle of the pitch to the city end to salute their euphoric supporters.
Chitembwe believes the second-half performance by his players was what the doctor ordered and felt he got full value from his second-half substitutions Ralph Kawondera and Chiwunga.
“We are happy with the result. We were also desperate for it,” said Chitembwe.
“I think it’s good for the team because it brings so much to the team.
“We knew they were leading and we were chasing the game. It’s always difficult when you’re chasing the game against a team like Highlanders. Realising they were leading and they were sitting at the back, we needed to change the whole dimension of the game, hence we decided to bring in Ralph who I think is a bit mobile in the midfield, and he gave us that mobility.
“We did just change positions; we took out Rodwell (Chinyengetere) and slightly changed (Kingsley) Mureremba’s position so that he gives us the mobility that we needed when building up play. Transitioning from midfield into attack was a bit slower when Roddy was in there and then Mureremba gave us exactly what we needed,” said Chitembwe.
Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu said this was the most painful defeat after watching his side give away a 2-0 lead that they had secured in the first 32 minutes of the game.
Chikuhwa tapped the ball home from close range after CAPS United defenders had failed to clear from a corner kick taken by Marvelous Chigumira in the 22nd minute.
Just as Makepekepe were still trying to reorganise themselves, Chikuhwa extended Bosso’s lead from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute.
CAPS United conceded a penalty after Hastings Chapusha had pulled down Chikuhwa inside the box. Chapusha was desperate to stop the striker following a suicidal error by the usually dependable captain Godknows Murwira.
With the brace, Chikuhwa took his season’s tally to 10 goals, equal with leading scorers Khama Billiat and Manondo.
But Manondo provided an immediate response to this when grabbing his 11th from the penalty spot to break away from the competition. Makepekepe had to turn to the forward when the opportunity to halve the arrears presented itself when referee Owen Manhenda pointed to the spot for a handball shortly before the half-time break.
Manhenda adjudged that Bosso defender Chigumira used his hand to block a shot from Manondo after Jayden Bakari had squared the ball into the box from the right by-line. The decision was hotly disputed by the visitors but the referee stood his ground.
Manondo stepped up and fired a low shot far from the diving goalkeeper Reward Muza who had guessed correctly the direction of the ball.
The second half started with animated exchanges between the referee and CAPS United coach Chitembwe near the centre line.
The Green Machine continued toiling without results for most of the second half but they eventually got the equaliser in the 85th minute when Bunjira turned in a cross from Phineas Bamusi with his head at the back post.
There was still more time for an exciting finish with Bosso missing at least two good scoring opportunities while Makepekepe also got close with Phineas Bamusi and Cameroonian Joseph Mbollo, who was introduced at the restart and only to limp out later on with a suspected muscle pull.
The Green Machine eventually turned around the game when Bosso defender Peter Muduhwa made a mess of what was supposed to be a routine clearance inside the penalty box. Muduhwa failed to read a simple bounce and the ball landed invitingly on the feet of veteran forward Lot Chiwunga who was lurking behind in the 94th minute. Chiwunga rifled home a rising shot that beat goalkeeper Muza as pressure piled on Bosso.
Bosso had themselves to blame, as coach Kelvin Kaindu put it in the post-match interview.
“I think this is one of the most painful losses that we have encountered. We started well and we managed to score two goals and I thought we were in the driving seat. But the game changed; we lost focus in the way that we defended.
“I think before the end of the first half when CAPS United were given that penalty we lost a bit of concentration because everybody thought that the ball had hit the player on the face. But football being what it is, we should be able to defend our lead but CAPS United came out stronger in the second half.
“We had anticipated that they would use their wide areas and this is exactly what they did. The unfortunate part is that all the three goals CAPS United scored, we could have defended them but we made our own mistakes,” said Kaindu.
Teams:
CAPS Utd: Ashley Reyners, Hastings Chapusha, Eric Manokore, Bruce Kangwa, Godknows Murwira, Kingsley Mureremba, Phineas Bamusi, Junior Bunjira, Jayden Bakari (J. Mbollo, 46th min, I. Zambezi 96th min), Rodwell Chinyengetere (R. Kawondera, 65th min), William Manondo (L. Chiwunga, 71st min)
Highlanders: Reward Muza, Marvellous Chigumira (K. Mvelo, 89th min), Andrew Mbeba, Peter Muduhwa, Godfrey Makaruse, Mckinnon Mushore, Brighton Ncube (N. Rauzhi, 67th min), Mason Mushore, Melikhaya Ncube, Lynoth Chikuhwa, Nqobile Ndlovu (G. Nyathi, 90th min)
Online Reporter