Is this the battle for fourth?

Grace Chingoma Sports Reporter
TRIANGLE coach Kelvin Kaindu is banking on his team’s impressive away record, which is better than their record at home, when they meet CAPS United in a Castle Lager Premiership match at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.

The Lowveld side have not been doing well at home in the second half of the season, where they bowed out of the championship race in dramatic fashion, and became a pale shadow of the team which started the season with a bang.

Luckily for them, the other Premiership clubs have also been inconsistent and Triangle are still on fourth position, 14 points behind pacesetters Chicken Inn, and a considerable improvement from last year when they battled relegation.

In this second half of the season they have only managed one point at home when they were held to a goalless draw by Kaindu’s formeremployers Highlanders.

Before the break they fell to a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Flame Lily, who completed back-to-back wins over them this season.

They lost 0-1 to FC Platinum at Gibbo and were also silenced 0-2 by Dynamos.

Kaindu believes it is not that they have become a bad team overnight but they were just struggling to score goals. “If you look at our second round record, we only picked up one point at home and the rest we collected on the road,” said the Zambian gaffer.

“We are not playing that bad, it’s just that we are not scoring. I know a team that plays badly and we just need to have self-belief and start winning games.”

The former Highlanders coach says he wants to maintain a top four finish, which is now under serious threat from other teams such as Hwange, Harare City and CAPS United.

All these teams were far off the mark when Triangle were going through their good run and were among those vying for the league title.

Triangle and Hwange have 38 points while Harare City and CAPS United are on 37 points.

And should CAPS United win tomorrow afternoon they will ease into the fourth place.

“Five games to go, we want to avoid the situation of fighting relegation. We want to consolidate our position and if possible move up the log,” said Kaindu.

The team will be missing midfielders Brian Juwayeyi, who is nursing a knee injury, and Tichaona Chipunza, who is serving a one-match suspension.

CAPS United assistant coach Mark Mathe said he expects a tough match.

“I have worked with Kaindu and he is a professional and a good coach and is good at his job,” said Mathe.

“But this is a league game and they beat us in the first leg and it will be a tough match. But we have been working hard at training.”

Mathe said they have already forgotten that they lost their last league game against ZPC Kariba and were concentrating on what they can change.

That was Lloyd Chitembwe’s first league defeat and came after his men had taken the lead through the impressive Joel “Josta” Ngodzo who has rediscovered the form that made him such a household name when he first appeared at Highlanders.

Chitembwe believes Ngodzo will play a big part as CAPS battle for honours next season as the Green Machine have been quietly beefing up their ranks byy signing a number of good players who will be unveiled once the season is over.

“As the coach (Lloyd Chitembwe) said, we share the same sentiments, as a big club, we have to be competitive in all the matches we play, that is our plan till the season ends.”

The Green Machine will be without skipper Moses Muchenje who is nursing an injury.

Defender Justice Jangano has a groin strain and has been doing light training and will have to pass a late fitness test.

Veteran striker Leonard Tsipa has also been struggling this week and needs to pass a late fitness test.