adminBruce Chikuni
CAPS United midfielder, Devon Chafa, admits they have no option but to treat the remaining fixtures as Cup finals.
The Green Machine ended their seven-game losing streak, two weeks ago, with a 2-1 win over Harare City.
They also salvaged a goalless stalemate against Black Rhinos, over the weekend, to keep their survival hopes alive.
A character test awaits Llyod Chitembwe’s men against Ngezi Platinum this coming Saturday, at Baobab. Chafa, who rejoined the Green Machine’s camp early this season, is set for a tough reunion against his former paymasters, Ngezi.
“The preparations for the match are going on well, so far so good, the energy levels are very pleasing.
“We are playing a good side and, without any doubt, they have the home advantage to bank on.
“As CAPS United, we are trying our level best to salvage what’s left for the season, individually and collectively,” said Chafa.
He highlighted that pride will be at stake despite Ngezi’s poor run.
“The idea is to always try to play better than what we did on our last assignment and we should really make use of the lady luck, which seems to be smiling on us.
“This game means a lot for both sides, Ngezi are coming from a heavy loss and we are also enjoying some fine results, something we are desperate to keep doing.
“This fixture is going to demand a lot from us as CAPS players, in order to keep our ship moving and, since it’s a clash of the giants, pride will be at stake,” he said.
He insisted the financial situation of the club will not deter their quest to end in a good position.
The club’s new acquisition, Ali Sadiki, is still waiting for his papers to be cleared before he can don the green-and-white jersey.
Ronaldo Chinyengetere, who has been sharing the scoring burden with the league’s leading scorer, William Manondo, appears to be a major doubt for the weekend’s showdown.
Tatenda Tavengwa is still on the recovery path after suffering a career-threatening injury, which has kept him on the sidelines, for the larger part of the season.
Benjani Mwaruwari’s Ngezi are also struggling to keep themselves on track for a top four spot.
They are sitting ninth on the standings, just three points off the fourth place.
There was nothing to separate the two sides in the reverse fixture as they settled for a goalless draw.
Benjani has since acquired the service of Tapiwa Mandinyenya from South Africa’s GladAfrica championship side JDR Stars on a loan deal.
Online Reporter