Zimpapers Logo

The Green Machine take on a Mighty Bulls side in a top-of-the table showdown at Rufaro on Saturday, between two teams with the same number of points, as CAPS United begin a tough three-match league schedule which Chunga believes will define their season.

Makepepeke will then meet Premiership moneybags FC Platinum, who moved within a point of the leaders — with a game in hand — following their 3-1 win over Shabanie yesterday, at Rufaro next week, before going to the City of Kings for a date against Highlanders at Barbourfields.

It’s a defining period in CAPS United’s battle to end half-a-dozen years of waiting for the league championship and for the club’s fans to find another coaching hero since Charles Mhlauri led them to back-to-back titles and turned into a legend like the immortal members of the Class of ’96.

CAPS United have encountered turbulence in the past three games, after a storming start to the campaign in which they won their first three matches, losing to Blue Ribbon, drawing against Black Mambas and squeezing a 1-0 win against Chicken Inn.

Now they meet the champions, who have only conceded one goal in six matches so far this season, with memories still fresh of the controversy sparked by their last meeting when the Mighty Bulls powered to a 4-2 win that left a bitter taste in the mouth among the Dynamos fans.

CAPS United, who conceded four goals in the first half of that game, were accused of having thrown away the tie so that Motor Action — who needed a victory to remain alive in a tight championship battle — would eventually prevail over DeMbare.

The sight of CAPS United fans celebrating the Mighty Bulls goals together with the Motor Action supporters, rubbed salt into the wounds of the Dynamos family as it became apparent that their 4-0 win over Douglas Warriors on the same day would count for nothing in the race for the league title.

Motor Action won the battle on goal difference, after beating Lengthens on the final day of the season, and Dynamos — who finished second for the third straight year — were left to look for scapegoats and CAPS United became easy targets for the way they capitulated against the Mighty Bulls.

Interestingly, Motor Action reminded Dynamos that they don’t need to pay their opponents to beat them as they powered to an impressive 2-0 win over the Glamour Boys at Rufaro in a league match last month.

Chunga said yesterday his team had closed the dark chapter from their meeting with Motor Action last year and the insults they suffered helped to turn them into a stronger team that should be fighting for league honours rather than trying to influence the title’s destiny for others.

The CAPS United coach said his only concern, going into Saturday’s match, was that the Mighty Bulls were turning into their bogey side.
“We are playing the defending champions and you have to give them their respect and they are also turning into our bogey team and they beat us in our last meeting,” said Chunga.

“I believe this year we have a group of players who have different qualities top the ones we had last year and what happened last year can’t be changed but we can try and make our statement with a good performance.

“We have moved on from all the insults we suffered and we have put together a team that we want to compete for the league title and our only concern right now is to win our matches and you guys can make your own analysis. Motor Action have started strongly but we really don’t want to look too much into the opposition but rather in our camp so that we get the right men for the right job and I think we are ready for the challenge because if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.”

Chunga will welcome striker Simba Sithole back into the fold but, after 10 goals for club and country in the last nine matches, chances are that the pacy forward could be lost to domestic football when the Young Warriors’ All-Africa Games’ Battle of Limpopo against South Africa ends.

Sithole missed the win against Chicken Inn because of national team commitments and struck a brace against Botswana on Sunday.

Chunga said it was important for CAPS United to remain focused in the next three matches because they had a golden opportunity, playing against three competitive teams, to make a big statement and define their season.

“I always felt when I first looked at our fixtures that the next three games will really show us where we stand as a team and we can tell how far we have grown as a side and whether we can compete, in the long-run, for the league title,” said Chunga.

“It’s a challenge and I have always liked such challenges and I believe our players are ready for it, too, and it will be interesting to see how it all shapes out. We are ready for anything that will be thrown at us and it’s up to us to show the country whether we are genuine title contenders or not and it’s in such a tough run of matches that your true quality comes out.”

The game against FC Platinum will certainly renew speculation about Chunga’s move to the miners although the former Zimbabwe captain maintains that he hasn’t been given an offer and his heart remains with CAPS United and making a big impression at the Green Machine.

The tie against Bosso will mark the first time, in nine matches, that CAPS United would be moving out of the capital after having played seven matches at Rufaro and one at the National Sports Stadium by then.

“The good thing about the Highlanders game is that it will help us prove that we can also compete outside Harare because that has been a big talking point so far,” said Chunga.

CAPS United might be leading the race but it is so tight that the leading three, who include the Mighty Bulls, are only separated by goal difference while a raging FC Platinum has now moved within a point of the trio, with a game in hand. A win over Motor Action might not guarantee CAPS United top place on Saturday, should Chicken Inn crush Zimbabwe Saints at Luveve, while FC Platinum have another home tie at Maglas against Blue Ribbon on the same day.

Chunga insists this is the kind of tough battles that brings the best out of him and two years ago he defied the odds to edge Dynamos and win the league title for Gunners.

“We will take one game at a time but we can feel that we have gone into a phase, in the next three games, which can make you or break you.”

Whatever the result from Rufaro on Saturday, it’s very clear that there will be no sub-plots this time about a match being thrown away and, for a change, a Motor Action will certainly cheer the spirits of the Dynamos fans.
Football, what a game!