dyton mupawaenda
Eddie Chikamhi-Senior Sports Reporter
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe has given his players two days’ rest in order to prepare well for the upcoming football duel against old foes Dynamos in the Chibuku Super Cup semi-finals at the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.
The Green Machine are anxious to rescue a season that was almost spun out of control and they have a realistic chance of salvaging pride by winning the country’s premier football knock-out tournament.
After arresting the slide in the league competition, coach Lloyd Chitembwe believes full attention should also be given to the Chibuku Super Cup, after reaching the last four for the first time in the history of the competition.
But the Green Machine have suffered from the effects of fatigue following a frenzied month of football fixtures in which they play seven games in just over three weeks, with a lot of travelling in-between.
The former midfielder said the signs were showing in their last game against basement side Cranborne
Chitembwe this week gave his players an extra day of rest so that they recharge their batteries for the upcoming Harare derby in the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup.
“Like I said, we have had a very hectic period. We have been travelling, we have been playing matches and training; trying to balance up was always never going to be easy.
“You know, we were playing week in and week out. So it’s not going to be easy. Some of these things are signs of fatigue.
“This is the nature of this job and the players understand that and it’s up to us to try and work on it; give them enough rest before an important game that’s coming up against Dynamos.
“We will try and give them that much time so that they regenerate their bodies and hopefully get a sense of freshness, come Sunday next week,” said Chitembwe.
CAPS United reached the semi-finals of the Chibuku Super Cup after edging fellow giants Highlanders in a penalty shoot-out at Barbourfields at the beginning of the month.
The upcoming game against Dynamos is one of the biggest for them as they hope to avenge the back-to-back defeats they suffered at the hands of their traditional rivals in the league competition.
“It’s a very important game but I think the most important thing is to give these boys a break. We are giving them two days’ break and resume our training on Wednesday (tomorrow) so that at least they can fully recover from the hectic load that they have gone through during the last four weeks.
“I think it’s well-deserved and I am sure by the time we play Dynamos there will be some freshness within the team.”
Makepekepe have made some amends for the dip in form during the course of the season which saw them spending the better part in the bottom half.
Makepekepe are now eighth on the log standings with 37 points, but they still trail log leaders Ngezi Platinum Stars by a massive 20 points going into the last five games of the season.
“The focus for us is on both ways. We would want to continue focusing on the league because we have had a terrible season. It’s important for us to try and maximise from the games that are remaining.
“The focus is also on the Chibuku Super Cup, to try and do as well as we expect ourselves to do so that we can at least have a decent season.
“Anything less than that then it will be very disappointing for us. We know that capacity is there, the qualities are there. We can go on then to achieve the things that we really want to achieve,” said Chitembwe.
Makepekepe enjoyed good returns in their last four outings, winning three games on the trot against Hwange, Sheasham and Simba Bhora before drawing with Cranborne Bullets last Sunday.
Chitembwe believes the four-game unbeaten run would help boost his team’s confidence in the Chibuku Super Cup game against DeMbare.
“It’s very important because the by-product of that is very good confidence levels. It’s a situation where you go into a match believing you are not going to lose a match. So, that in itself is very important,” said Chitembwe.
Chibuku Super Cup fixtures:
Saturday: Black Rhinos v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Bata)
Sunday: Dynamos v CAPS United (NSS
Online Reporter