adminthe May Madness of 2008 under coach Luke Masomere, has the country’s third biggest football franchise slumped to such sickening depths of mediocrity.
The Green Machine crashed to a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Black Mambas at Morris Depot on Saturday, the pain of that defeat worsened by the fact that it was delivered by a striker, Last Chibwiro, who was hounded out of CAPS United by some fans who felt he wasn’t good enough.
That defeat meant that the Class of 2012 have now replaced the team of 2008 as the squad that suffered the longest losing streak at CAPS United since Chris Sibanda and his pioneering colleagues brought us the domestic Premiership in 1993.
“For a team like CAPS United, this is unacceptable, and we all have to look at ourselves in the mirror, especially the players, and see where we are getting it wrong and letting down the fans,” said striker Shingi Kawondera, who is yet to score since his arrival.
“It’s all down to us players, and no one else, and the solution lies within us and maybe the big game against Dynamos has come at the right time and is a blessing in disguise because we have been pushed into a corner and we are the team that now wants to win that game more.
“Maybe we need such a huge challenge for us to find our game again but I think we also need a bit of luck because we have been firing in training and in our training games but somehow, when we get to the real match, the luck deserts us.
“If there was a league table for the team that is hitting the post, having balls somehow scooped from the line, I think we would be topping that log but football is a cruel game because it only remembers those who win and we haven’t been doing that.
“Maybe we need to break from tradition and rather than go into camp, they should just let the boys go home so that those who pray or those who have their rituals can do those things and if it can bring us just that luck, which we are lacking right now, I’m sure we will be a totally different team.”
CAPS United haven’t scored in four of the games during that record losing streak of half-a-dozen games and, interestingly, the three goals they have scored have
come in games against one team — Hwange.
The Green Machine failed to score in 180 minutes against Highlanders, losing 0-1 at Barbourfields and 0-2 at Rufaro, fired blanks against Dynamos in a 0-1 defeat and didn’t score in the defeat at Morris Depot against Mambas on Saturday.
All their goals, during this period, have come against Hwange with Leonard Fiyado scoring on his debut in a 1-2 defeat to Hwange and the Harare giants scoring twice in a 2-3 defeat at the Colliery.
CAPS United are yet to score at Rufaro during this wretched run.
The Green Machine haven’t won a league match in 70 days, a period that is more than two months, since defeating Hardbody 1-0 at Ascot on June 10, when a goal by ‘keeper, Eddie Sibanda, fired them to victory.
Since then, CAPS United have played eight league matches and are yet to win even a single game, drawing against Mambas and Buffaloes and then slumping to their six-goal losing streak.
Kawondera believes they will soon turn it around.
“It has been tough and everyone is feeling it right now and the guys are down because in training we are doing everything right but we just don’t know what is hitting us when we get into the real game,” said Kawondera.
“We owe it to the fans who have stuck with us to produce one great result for them and the Dynamos game is coming at the right time and, from there, we can then just keep sailing.”
CAPS United had 18 points, when they drew 1-1 against Buffaloes in June, and were sitting pretty in fifth place, only six points behind leaders Highlanders who were on 24 points.
Two months later, Bosso have added 18 points to their tally, the same number that the Green Machine had on the table, to get to 42 points, while CAPS United have added only one point during that period.
The difference between CAPS United and Black Mambas was 14 points and the Green Machine had a 14-point cushion over Blue Rangers.
Two months down the line, Mambas have crept within one point of Makepekepe and lowly Rangers have moved within eight points of CAPS United.
CAPS United were one point better than both Dynamos and Monomotapa but DeMbare have now moved 15 points clear of their bitter rivals and Monoz are 14 points clear now.
Ironically, just like in 2008 when CAPS United went through such a nightmarish run, it all started with a defeat against Highlanders at Barbourfields.
The scoreline, in both cases, is also similar — 0-1 in favour of Bosso.
After losing at Barbourfields in 2008, CAPS United went on to lose 0-1 to Masvingo United, 2-3 to Gunners, 2-3 to Monomotapa and 1-3 to Underhill at Mucheke where Masomere threw in the towel.
This year, after losing 0-1 to Bosso at Barbourfields, CAPS United have gone on to lose 0-2 to Hwange, 2-3 to Hwange, 0-1 to Dynamos, 0-2 to Highlanders and 0-1 to Mambas.
CAPS United parted ways with Masomere after he had lost five straight league games but his replacement, Jostein Mathuthu, didn’t enjoy early success as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kiglon in the next match before falling 0-1 to Lengthens.
Mathuthu, though, won the BancABC Sup8r Cup that year.
This year the Green Machine parted ways with Sean Conner after four straight defeats, and six games without a win, and his replacement, Taurai Mangwiro, hasn’t enjoyed early success after losing 0-2 to Bosso and 0-1 to Mambas.
CAPS United ended the 2008 campaign level, on 36 points, with Lancashire Steel, the team that was occupying the final relegation play-off place but the Harare giants survived because of a superior goal difference.
CAPS FC, that pathetic clone that was rejected by the fans who stuck with the Green Machine, were relegated that year after finishing bottom of the table.
Lancashire Steel never emerged from a chaotic relegation play-off and have since disappeared from the radar.
Today CAPS United are just one point better than the team occupying the final relegation slot, Mambas, and need a huge swing in fortunes if they are to avoid the nightmare of 2008.
Online Reporter