Chungwa rescues Makepekepe

By Eddie Chikamhi

CAPS United . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 1
Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

DOMINIC Chungwa was both a hero and a villain yesterday after the burly forward scored a priceless goal and then missed a glaring chance, all inside the last 45 minutes, as CAPS United beat battling Triangle in a Castle Lager Premiership soccer match at the National Sports Stadium.

Chungwa, who is a firm favourite for the Golden Boot award this year, pounced on a poor spill by the goalkeeper Tapiwa Chilenga in the 74th minute after the hosts had squandered a glut of chances earlier on.

On a good day, Chungwa alone could have scored at least a hat-trick. But in the end it didn’t matter as he was back in the hunt for the Top Goalscorer’s award with his 12th goal of the season, which put him at par with Lot Chiwunga of Black Rhinos who grabbed a rare league brace against Yadah at the weekend.

CAPS United assistant coach Fungai Tostao Kwashi was happy with the win which meant that Makepekepe maintained their good form in the second half of the championship race, rising from the bottom half of the log standings into fifth place.

“It’s a happy afternoon. One goal, three points. We could have done better than this, still we thank God for the victory. It was not an easy game but we deserved it according to the balance of play. We created more chances, more crosses, we had more attempts and shots on target although we missed a lot of chances.

“Our conversion rate was not 100 percent but the most important thing at the business end of the season is about winning football games, no matter how you win it. Whether it’s by the hand of Chungwa or by the hand of God, the most important thing is getting three points. So we keep working hard and we look forward to the next game against Black Rhinos,” said Kwashi.

The poor conversion rate, which apparently did not tally with chances created by the Harare giants, was a huge cause of concern for the technical bench. John Zhuwawu, Moses Muchenje and Phineas Bamusi all came close in the opening half but the finishing was not clinical. Makepekepe then survived a dipping free-kick from veteran defender Guthrie Zhokinyi whose effort from the dead-ball situation was tipped over by big goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda just before the referee’s whistle for half-time.

Green Machine skipper Hardlife Zvirekwi was denied by the woodwork when he headed in a high ball from Bamusi just a few minutes after the interval. Chungwa was viewed as the Fall Guy as he could not react quickly enough for the rebound as the visitors’ defenders recovered to block the ball out for safety.

But the more CAPS United surged forward, the more the unsettled Triangle goalkeeper Tapiwa Chilenga was exposed of his weaknesses as the young goal-minder made numerous goalkeeping errors as he failed to handle the ball cleanly. Chilenga spilled a grounder from substitute Abisirim Chidiebere in the 70th minute, presenting Chungwa with another golden opportunity to capitalise on.

Chungwa, however, unsuccessfully tried to round off the keeper when he also had an option to chip the ball over the sprawling goalkeeper. But he didn’t repeat the same mistake in the 74th minute when Chilenga spilled another long range effort, this time a sizzling free-kick by Edmore Sibanda, into the path of the forward. Chungwa just touched the ball into the back of a yawning goal to ignite wild celebrations among the Green Machine family.

But with four minutes remaining, Chungwa angered the technical bench when he was sent through the middle by Devon Chafa and, with the keeper to beat and Chidiebere as an option to his right, he literally passed the ball to the stranded goalkeeper when the supporters were already on the edge of their seats ready to celebrate the second goal. Kwashi didn’t mince his words as he warned Chungwa to avoid being selfish by focusing on winning the Golden Boot award at the expense of team results.

“Never be satisfied in life, that’s my motto. Chungwa has got 12 goals but he could be having 16 or 17. We keep challenging him that he should not be satisfied with the 12 he has. He could have had a hat-trick today. The most important thing is for him to keep working hard, like he has been doing in the last six or seven months.

“If you remember the first four games of the season people booed Chungwa but now things have changed and he is the darling of the crowd. So that’s the story of a footballer’s life, that’s the story of our lives. You just have to keep on working hard, proving the critics wrong and proving yourself wrong and challenging yourself to do better and better, having that intrinsic motivation.

“So we challenge Chungwa not to work for the Top Goalscorer’s award but to work for the team because at the end of the day, the team is the most important thing. So first things first you need to work for the team and help the team. We appreciate that he is scoring goals and we encourage him to keep scoring goals but he should not lose focus. It’s not about the individual but it’s for the collective effort which is the 35 people who work for CAPS United and one million-plus supporters who support us,” said Kwashi.

Triangle remained in the doldrums and their coach Taurayi Mangwiro acknowledged, with 36 points, and sitting 10th on the log standings they would need to work harder in the coming matches to avoid being caught up in the relegation mix. The Herald