Caps United beaten by Buffaloes

By Langton Nyakwenda

Caps United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 0

Buffaloes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1

HARARE – Caps United supporters demanded the head of coach Brenna Msiska after Makepekepe slumped to a painful home defeat against resurgent Buffaloes in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at Gwanzura yesterday.

A large section of United supporters blamed Msiska for the defeat although neutrals will feel there was nothing the mentor could do as his charges missed a glut of chances and paid dearly when Buffaloes left winger, Farai Banda, curled in a beauty right at the end of the first half for his second goal of the season.

The growing discontent among the Makepekepe fans came as unofficial news filtered through that banned coach Taurai Mangwiro had been exonerated by the Zifa Appeals Committee and would resume duty this week after getting the official verdict from the mother body.

Caps United went into this encounter on the back of two consecutive wins and the team had begun winning back the confidence of their multitude of fans.

And they did start strongly and almost scored in the first minute had Tawanda Nyamandwe not skied his effort after Buffaloes goalkeeper Tandadzai Chengetai fumbled a Tapiwa Khumbuyani hard and low cross.

United pressed on, with impressive young left back Ronald Pfumbidzai causing all sorts of problems on his flank and one of his crosses, in the 16th minute, was headed wide by a diving Dominic Chungwa when the supporters were already up preparing to celebrate.

Five minutes later, Pride Tafirenyika, who was playing wide on the left, came face-to-face with the ’keeper after a defensive mix-up by the Buffaloes rearguard but shot tamely at Chengetai.

Buffaloes continued to sit back, only catching Caps United on the break sporadically and, in one of those moves, Shepherd Nkata’s blistering long range shot was tipped over the bar by United goalie Tafadzwa Dube.

Makepekepe’s bustling striker Nyamandwe was the culprit once again when he shot straight at the ’keeper after he was set clear for goal by a Chungwa clever flick as the clock ticked towards halftime.

Former Dynamos midfielder Wonder Sithole showed some glimpses of his capabilities and shot just wide in the 40th minute as Buffaloes slowly began to claw back into the game.

The Mutare-based team then snatched the lead that proved the winner in the 45th minute when Banda converted a free kick at the edge of the box after Caps defender Arnold Chivheya had handled.

Msiska made two changes inside the first 15 minutes of the second half, bringing on Moses Muchenje and young Takudzwa Mahori for Tafirenyika and David Rediyoni respectively as United searched for the equaliser.

Nyamandwe then grazed the cross bar in the 72nd minute after some neat exchanges in the box and skipper Khumbuyani’s thunderous free kick missed the target by a whisker three minutes later as Caps pushed Buffaloes to the wall.

Saul Chaminuka’s soldiers soldiered on with the talismanic Prosper Matizanadzo and Philip Chandisaita making decisive interventions.

There was a glimmer of hope for the Makepekepe faithful when six minutes were added on but Buffaloes hung on by the skin of their teeth and Pfumbidzai’s header which went straight to Chengetai was the last action of the day.

Despite the pressure from the supporters, Msiska was proud of his boys and promised to work on his team’s poor conversion rate.

“It is so sad to lose when you are playing well like we did today. We missed a lot of chances and that cost us the game. We hope to bounce back next week when we travel to How Mine,” said Msiska.

His counterpart, Chaminuka, praised his charges for putting up a disciplined show and promised more giant-killing acts.

“You can see that we are a team that is improving and I am excited that we have beaten Caps in their backyard. We are now right on course and count us seriously for the title challenge,” he said.

Teams

Caps United

T. Dube, T Khumbuyani, A. Chivheya, G. Magariro, R. Pfumbidzai, T. Samanja, H. Zvirekwi, P. Tafirenyika (M. Muchenje 50th), D. Rediyoni (T. Mahori 65th), T. Nyamandwe, D. Chungwa (L. Fiyado 77th).

Buffaloes

T. Chengetai, S. Nkata, F. Banda, T. Ndlovu, P. Chandisaita, P. Matizanadzo, R. Mwenga (A. Dzumbunu (80th), T. Mareya, W. Sithole (D Zimbango 80th), S. Sibanda, J. Muzokomba.