Online Reporter
Blessing Malinganiza
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE is a familiar feeling that comes with a CAPS United winning run, the kind that builds quickly, spreads easily across conversations, and just when it should turn into full belief, it slows, held back by everything supporters have seen before.
Four games, four wins, top of the table and still, across the country, there is a hesitation that refuses to go away.
Because CAPS United have done this before.
They have started well before, they have raised expectations before, they have pulled people in with runs like this, only for the season to slip away when it mattered most.
That memory does not fade after a few good results. It stays close, shaping how this run is being received, even as the numbers begin to stack up in their favour.
This time, though, there is something that feels harder to ignore. Agama beaten 2-1 at home, Herentals edged 1-0, a difficult trip to Triangle negotiated with another 1-0 win, then Hardrock coming to Rufaro and being handled with control, Ishmael Wadi scoring one and setting up the other in a 2-0 result that rarely looked in doubt.
Four matches, four wins, five goals scored, one conceded, and for once, it is not just the results, but the manner of them that stands out.
This is no longer a bright start that can be dismissed as early momentum.
It is something taking shape, something that looks organised and thought through.
But in CAPS United’s case, the question has never been how well they can begin.
It has always been how long they can hold it when the season begins to stretch and the pressure shifts.
Inside the camp, there is a deliberate effort to keep that reality in view. Wadi, now central to everything CAPS are doing in attack, speaks with the calm of someone who understands both the excitement and the risk that comes with it, someone who has seen how quickly narratives can turn around this club.
“I think we have to remain humble,” he says after training.
“It’s a marathon which still has more than 20 games to be played. Yes, we are happy with the form, and we don’t have to get carried away because there is still more to do.”
That tone runs through the squad, and it feels intentional.
For years, CAPS United have lived between identity and inconsistency, a club with one of the biggest followings in the country but one that has struggled to turn that weight into sustained success.
Good runs have come and gone, strong starts have faded, and that history sits just beneath the surface of everything they are doing now.
Under Takesure Chiragwi, though, there are signs of a team that understands what it is trying to be and how it wants to get there.
The structure is clearer, the approach more measured and even in games where they are not dominant, they look in control of themselves.
“As we all know, our coach was a defender,” Wadi says.
“So, the defenders are learning from the best, and they are putting the words into practice.”
That influence shows in the way CAPS are playing.
They are not chasing games or forcing moments; they are building them, patiently, with a backline that looks settled, a midfield that holds its shape, and an attack that moves with clarity rather than urgency. This is the part CAPS United have struggled to sustain in recent years, the ability to stay composed over time and not drift when the rhythm of a game changes.
Wadi sits at the centre of it all.
Against Hardrock, he did not just score and assist; he set the tempo in the final third, linking play, holding possession, making CAPS look composed when it mattered most, even when the game threatened to open up.
He plays it down, as expected.
“We give all the credit to the technical team who are doing quite a wonderful job,” he says.
“They have been working overtime on how to improve the team as a whole. But I also applaud the squad for its unity, love and support, as well as the good preseason we had.”
That preseason, partly spent in Malawi, laid the base for what is now unfolding.
While the players were building understanding on the pitch, the club’s leadership was shaping something that feels more deliberate than in recent seasons, something that suggests this is not a run built on momentum alone.
Club president Farai Jere has made it clear how this team sees itself, and there is no attempt to hide behind cautious language.
“We are not just participating this season; we are coming to conquer,” he says.
It is a strong line, but it reflects the shift in mindset around the club, a move away from survival thinking to something more assertive, more aligned with what CAPS United believe they should represent.
“We are rejuvenating the old Makepekepe soul with a winning mentality,” he says.
“Takesure knew what he needed. He brought in his trusted lieutenants from his championship days, and we have fused them with our own warriors.”
That intent is visible in how the squad has been built and in the kind of additions that have been made.
The arrival of Takunda Benhura, the 2023 Golden Boot winner, was not treated as depth or cover; it was positioned as a key piece in what they are trying to construct.
“For me, Takunda is not just a signing; he is a statement,” Jere says.
“We realised we were missing a predator. He is the one who sniffs out chances in the box and buries them. We won’t expect him to score just 13 goals but more than 20.”
This is a team being shaped with a clear objective, and inside the dressing room, that clarity is reinforced by a balance that appears more connected than in previous seasons, where experience and youth are not pulling in different directions.
“We have each other’s backs, despite who is young or old,” Wadi says.
“Obviously, there are experienced guys like Bruce Kangwa, Phineas Bamusi, who are the leaders in the team to keep everyone grounded.”
Grounded is the word CAPS United keep returning to, because everything around them is pulling in the opposite direction.
The wins invite belief, the table demands attention, and the fans, spread across the country, are starting to lean forward again, sensing that something might be building.
“The 12th men have been loud enough to fuel us,” Wadi says.
“They contribute a lot in our performance, and with them rallying behind us, we will try our best to make them proud.”
They have heard that before, and that is where the tension sits in this story.
What they have not seen in a while is a CAPS United side that looks this controlled, this clear in its approach, this consistent from one week to the next, without the usual signs of fragility creeping in.
Four games do not define a season, CAPS United know that better than anyone.
But four games can reveal something about a team, about its structure, its mentality and its ability to carry itself through different moments.
Right now, the signs are strong. The structure is clear. The belief is growing.
What comes next will decide everything.
