Chungwa gets another chance

By Eddie Chikamhi

DOMINIC CHUNGWA has another chance to take control of the Golden Boot race when CAPS United host Highlanders in a rescheduled Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the National Sports Stadium tonight.

The match kicks off at 7pm. Chungwa has been a reliable source of goals and there have also been strong performances from Nigerian forward Abisirim Chidiebere, Goodwin Goriyati and Devon Chafa, who won the supporters’ Player of the Month Award.

If he finds the back of the net tonight, Chungwa could take control of the Golden Boot race, where he is joint leader with Black Rhinos’ Lot Chiwunga on 12 goals.

Makepekepe, who were held to a goalless draw by Black Rhinos in their last outing, have virtually surrendered the title they won last year as they have fallen behind in the race by more than a dozen points with just five games remaining this season.

Assistant coach Fungai Tostao Kwashi said it was always going to be difficult for Makepekepe, who battled on two fronts, to defend their title while at the same time trying to make an impression in the CAF Champions League.

“Our target is to win the next football game. The more games we win, the better for the institution, the more points we get. Right now we are not chasing any dream, we are not chasing anyone, we are chasing ourselves. “We are chasing standards which we set before. We set high standards last year and we would want to maintain them, which is not easy, but we will keep working hard. We will keep praying hard so that we maintain them.

“It’s been a tough year for us, it’s been long. We have been travelling all over Africa, but like I said before, we embrace those challenges, it’s all part of the season. We love what we are doing, we love our jobs and we look ahead to the next encounter (against Highlanders),” said Kwashi.

Makepekepe last tasted defeat on September 3, when they fell to bitter rivals Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium, but recovered to beat their crosstown rivals in the reverse fixture in a fine run that has five wins and three draws.

Bosso coach Erol Akbay yesterday declared he had a full house at his disposal, including goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda, who of late has been seeing competition from newboy Nedrick Madeya.

“It’s sad that both of the teams are out of the title race. It would have been interesting. Still we have something to fight for. We have to finish strongly. CAPS United are giants and we are also giants and so we expect a very big game. Remember this is the first time we are meeting in the league this season and we all want to win it. So we will put in everything to win this game to make the Highlanders family happy. CAPS United were brilliant last year, but this time I think the quality of their game is a bit lower,” said Akbay.

Highlanders beat CAPS United 1-0 in the first leg when Bruce Kangwa scored midway through the second half at Barbourfields last year. However, the Green Machine rallied back to win by the same margin, thanks to Chungwa’s solitary strike in Harare.

After playing catch-up for the most of the season, Makepekepe will finally clear that backlog tonight and will then prepare to host Hwange on Sunday at the same venue. Highlanders will go back to Barbourfields for a date against Black Rhinos on Sunday. The Herald