CAPS United win no fluke

Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
CAPS United……………………..(2) 2
Chicken Inn……………………….(1) 1
THE venue was the National Sports Stadium and the competition this time was the Castle Lager Premiership but the outcome was the same as what happened four days ago at Ascot Stadium. Just four days ago in the Mbada Diamonds Cup, CAPS United and Chicken Inn squared off in a quarter-final tie and CAPS United got their revenge over Chicken Inn when they won 2- 1 in Gweru.

The two sides met again at the National Sports Stadium and the Green Machine showed that their win in the knock-out comeptition was not a fluke with an identical victory.

Goals from Moses Muchenje and Hardlife Zvirekwi inside the first quarter gave CAPS United the lead while returning striker Tendai Ndoro pulled one back for Chicken Inn who with some luck could have still grabbed a share of the spoils.

The predatory Ndoro shrugged off a challenge from Tawanda Munyanduri before punishing Tafadzwa Dube for coming off his area by slotting a low angled shot.

Ndoro remains in the hunt for the Golden Boot as he now sits on 13 goals while his nearest rivals Alick Marime of Tripple B is on 10 goals.
CAPS United’s victory was made sweeter for their fans when news filtered into the almost empty stadium that their bitter city rivals Dynamos had fallen at Mandava.

Despite the victory, CAPS  United remain in fifth place on the log with 39 points while Bosso have assumed the top spot after dislodging Dynamos who are now tied with FC Platinum and Harare City on 42 points.

But the Green Machine, who huffed and puffed for the greater part of the second half will admit that Chicken Inn gave them a good run in a match characterised by, fits and starts.

Muchenje gave CAPS United the lead in the fifth minute when he latched on the ball outside the box  to beat a badly positioned Liberty Chirava as the Gamecocks had failed  to decisively clear a raid from CAPS United.

Infact, Tawanda Nyamandwe should have given CAPS United the lead when he got space in the box to direct his effort past Chirava but the ball crashed against the upright post and bounced back into play to Tendai Samanja who the fed Muchenje to drive past the goalkeeper.
Warriors’ midfielder Zvirekwi increased the lead when he shook off his marker on the right before taking a shot that took a deflection and deceived Chirava in the 11th minute.

David Rediyoni should have been crucified for missing a glorious chance after 15 minutes when he beat an offside trap and charged towards goal unchallenged, but instead of driving the ball over Chirava, he opted to round off the goalie who thwarted the attack.

Leftback  Ronald Pfumbidzai started venturing forward as CAPS United sought to increase their lead but Chicken Inn refused to be cowed as Clement Matawu, Kuda Mahachi and Ndoro caused a few anxious moments for the hosts until Ndoro scored before the break.

The Gamecocks pressed on in the second half with some fine moves that unfortunately failed to yield goals with Ndoro coming close on two occasions as CAPS United lived dangerously.

In their last home match against Triangle, CAPS United took the lead but allowed the visitors to snatch a point and yesterday Chicken Inn came so close

CAPS United assistant coach Saul Chaminuka felt his team was now now ready to mopunt a strong finish in the titkle race and in the Mbada Diamonds Cup whose semi-final draw is on in the capital tomorrow.

“Its ecstatic to complete back to back wins over Chicken Inn inside four days. Chicken Inn were dominating CAPS United before but now the tide has shifted to our favour.

“I think the victory on Saturday motivated the players to continue with the winning streak against the same opponents and it was up to the boys to prove that the win in the Mbada Cup was not a fluke,” said Chaminuka.

Chaminuka said his club struggled in the second half after being forced to replace the injured Muchenje while Benson Maglasi was meant to play yet the PSL advised that he was serving a suspension.

“Overally we needed the points and we are very well in the championship race.
“We need to win on Saturday and confirm that,” said Chaminuka.

Chicken Inn coach Mandla Mpofu felt his team deserved at least a point after the game and hopes they will bounce back.
“I am very much disappointed but we have to psyche the players because these are the things that happen in football.
“We have are a good team and we can bounce back on Saturday. It was sad that we lost four days ago to CAPS United.

“Unfortunately because of the same error of conceding two goals and today I had changed the goalkeeper but the replacement made mistakes in the first 14 minutes .
“I think we will try and rectify this in the next game,” said Mpofu.