Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
CAPS United coach Takesure Chiragwi said Premiership matches are becoming trickier by the week and his players need to keep their feet on the ground.
The Green Machine are controlling early proceedings in the top-flight, leading the race with 15 points, one above rivals Dynamos after six match days.
Yet the former Ngezi Platinum gaffer has picked those smaller margins are determining games across the top-flight and said his players need to be more meticulous at this stage. Makepekepe face winless FC Hunters at Rufaro tomorrow aiming to ring-fence their place at the top.
“There are no easy games in the Premier Soccer League, believe you me,” said Chiragwi. “This is one of the toughest seasons that we are having. You will never afford to be casual. Every team is up for the task, and they are really punching hard.
“FC Hunters are a very good team when I look at their composition both in the field of play and on their technical bench.
“They are a really good side and they are capable of winning any game if I look into that composition. It’s only that the league is tough and they could have been unlucky not to have won so far.
“But at CAPS United, we want to build a winning DNA. That is why we are always telling the players to stay alert and awake every minute of the game. There is no room for lapses in this league.”
Chiragwi has never allowed pressure to get the better of him in his coaching career which has seen him win the 2023 Premiership title with Ngezi Platinum Stars despite starting the term on a low note.
“Being on top of the log doesn’t mean we should always carry pressure with us. We are just playing our normal game. We are just kicking the football, enjoying our game without putting ourselves under any pressure,” added Chiragwi.
“We can’t let pressure determine our destiny. We have played only six games this season and that’s not even a quarter of the marathon. That means we have to just take it one game at a time.
“We cannot afford to look at any other game beyond the following match. That’s who we are as a team. I am happy my players are also concentrating and that’s what I want from them.” Chiragwi said he wasn’t much concerned after two different players missed penalties in their previous two games.
Defender Kudzi Chigwida missed a penalty in Makepekepe’s 1-0 defeta at Ngezi Platinum Stars last week while Kundai Benyu also fluffed his in the Green Machine’s 2-0 win over Manica Diamonds.
Chiragwi said: “Sometimes we have to give it to the goalkeepers rather than put the blame on the takers. Penalties can be converted and they can also be missed.”
WEEK SEVEN FIXTURES
Saturday
Bulawayo Chiefs v Scottland (B/F), FC Hunters v Caps United (Rufaro), Hardrock v Agama (Chahwanda), Ngezi Platinum v Triangle (Baobab), TelOne v Chicken Inn (Ascot) Sunday
Dynamos v FC Platinum (Rufaro), Highlanders v ZPC Kariba (B/F), Manica Diamonds v Herentals (Greenfuel Arena).
Monday
MWOS v Simba Bhora (Ngoni)
