adminCaroline Magenga Sports Reporter
CAPS United assistant coach Mike Madzivanyika is hopeful that a victory over rivals Dynamos will send a strong message that the Green Machine are serious championship contenders. Madzivanyika is taking charge of the training sessions in the absence of head coach Taurai Mangwiro, who is attending a Caf A Licence course at the Zifa Village.
The former Arcadia and Black Aces midfielder had been taking the Green Machine through their paces at Lafarge and believes a win on Sunday at the National Sports Stadium will boost their credentials.
Both teams are sitting on 26 points, a point behind log leaders Highlanders, as the league race reaches the halfway stage.
“This Derby is important to us because we are currently just a point away from the leaders and tied with Dynamos.
“So, it’s imperative that we win the match to consolidate our claims as the title contenders for the season,” said Madzivanyika.
A usually reserved character, Madzivanyika said CAPS United’s current fine run was likely to continue until Sunday’s tie.
CAPS United have won their last four matches against Chicken Inn (2-1), Hwange (2-1), Chiredzi (2-0) and Shabanie (3-0).
The Green Machine’s last defeat came on June 6 when they lost 0-3 to Chapungu at Ascot.
Their win over Chicken Inn was made even more impressive by the chaos that blighted preparations for their trip to Bulawayo.
“The boys are in good shape and in the last four games, they played really well and we are optimistic that they are going to carry that momentum in the Sunday’s match and get good results,” said Madzivanyika.
He said morale was high in camp with the players bullish that the time had come for them to stop DeMbare’s dominance.
CAPS United have for the past five years, been dominated by their biggest rivals who have also won three straight league titles.
There was also good news in the CAPS United camp with highly-rated Malawian international midfielder Gerald Phiri joining the team after his trial stint in South Africa.
Ronald Pfumbidzai started light training on Tuesday.
Online Reporter