Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
JAYDEN BAKARI has struggled to reach the heights his potential from three years ago seemed to merit.
The 22-year-old was the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League’s Most Promising Player in 2022 after scoring 10 goals for the now-disbanded Whahwa.
But the last three years have not been quite ideal for the lanky forward, first at his boyhood team Dynamos in 2023 before crossing the divide to CAPS United last year.
An injury early in the season meant he missed most of the term before returning to haunt DeMbare when Makepekepe won the second-leg of the Harare Derby 2-1 at Rufaro late last year.
He has started the year in the most ideal fashion, scoring the equalising goal for Makepekepe in their 1-1 draw on the opening weekend of the season at GreenFuel last Saturday.
And he says the warm working environment at CAPS United will bring out the monster in him.
“I am happy to have started the season on a positive note. The match against GreenFuel was tough, but you would feel we deserved to win, but then we had to settle for a draw, which wasn’t bad at all.
“I am happy to have started the term with a goal that earned the team a point. It is a good start for me,” said Bakari.
“Look, last year was very difficult. I had just moved from Dynamos, where I wasn’t getting enough game time, to be at CAPS United.
“But then I was dogged by injuries, and that also ensured I got limited time on the pitch. It’s like my promising career regressed significantly over the past two years.
“I am happy to be here because the environment alone is very encouraging and makes you focus on your game only.
“I will be honest. The coach (Lloyd Chitembwe) is motivating us a lot, and the group is awesome. There is quality in the team. There is a lot of experience and determination. The stories we are always sharing are stories of encouragement and the need to compete and succeed this season.
“With that mentality cutting across the players and extending to all other departments, I see the team doing well, and I also think this is the right platform being created for all of us to become the best we can.”
CAPS United will need to settle in the race quickly after dropping two points in Chisumbanje.
They host star-studded newcomers Scottland at Rufaro on Sunday.
For the first time since his return to local football last year, Makepekepe will likely get to face one of their most successful sons, Khama Billiat, who has recovered from an injury that forced him to sit out Scottland’s opening day 1-0 win over Triangle at the same venue last week.
Billiat returned from a 13-year stint in South Africa and joined Yadah Stars, where he was the mainstay but never got to play against the Green Machine due to suspensions.
However, he could line up for Sunday’s fixture exactly 15 years since he left CAPS United to join Ajax Cape Town in 2010.
Alongside reigning Soccer Star of the Year Walter Musona, 2024 Golden Boot winner Lynoth Chikuhwa, Albert Manenji, Tymon Machope, and Frederick Ansha-Botchway, Billiat and Scottland can be a tough hurdle to scale for Makepekepe.
But Bakari believes the CAPS United machinery can unlock the well-oiled Scottland defence.
“As CAPS United, we don’t care how much the opponents are doing on or off the field of play. We are not concerned about the caliber of personnel they might have. We care about ourselves and the fact that we are CAPS United.
“Being CAPS United is just enough for us to beat anyone in the league,” added Bakari.
“We are never going to concentrate our efforts on any individual in the opposition team. We know ourselves, and that is what’s important.
“Of course, we do know that every opponent will come at us hard because we are a big team.
“That means we must be careful, but at the end of the day, we are CAPS United, and we have to show that in the field of play. Scottland boost of good players, but in terms of quality, I think we are also up there.”
The minimum entry fee at the venue has been pegged at US$5, with those in the western grandstand and VIP to fork out US$10 and US$20, respectively.
CAPS United chief executive officer Morton Dodzo said there will be loads of entertaining activities before, during, and after the match with the details expected soon, while the Makepekepe Juniors, as has become the norm, will be part of the curtain-raisers to the big game.
