By Tadious Manyepo
HARARE City coach Lloyd Chitembwe has become an instant darling with the players because of his philosophy after throwing a lifeline to some of the players discarded by his predecessors.
Chitembwe started his reign at the municipal club with a 1-0 victory over Highlanders at Barbourfields on Sunday.
The former CAPS United gaffer gave a chance to some players who had long been forgotten at Harare City under both Mark Harrison and Mark Mathe.
Such players as William Manondo, who had been relegated to cameo roles, and Tatenda Tumba, who had been reduced into a mere training aid, suddenly sprung into life against Bosso.The scorer of that goal, Jerry Chipangura, had also been discarded by Mathe.
And, midfielder Moses Muchenje was also struggling to make a mark.
Muchenje (27), a former CAPS United captain, has reunited with Chitembwe who has given him a new lease of life at Harare City.
Chitembwe’s charges take on Chapungu at Rufaro this afternoon and will be banking on the likes of Muchenje to help his side carry the day against the in-form Air Force of Zimbabwe side.
He believes the team’s last result has boosted morale but warned his charges about the threat Chapungu poses. “The result (against Highlanders) was very good. It really raised our confidence levels.
‘’As a new coach coming in, I thought the response was very fantastic. We never had time to work on a lot of aspects. “But all the same I am very happy. In the last two days, the boys are showing very high levels of enthusiasm.
“Chapungu have been posting some very good results of late and we know they are capable of doing well.
‘’But we know we are not in a very good position,” said Chitembwe.
He praised his troops for the positive response to his coaching methods. “Things are promising and I think we have what it takes to do a lot more in the coming games.
“The fact that all the players are there (with no injuries), means we already have an advantage.
“The response has been very good. There is no perfect team, you always find teams making mistakes, technically and tactically.
“So, obviously, we would like to see the team continuously improving.”
Fixtures
Today
Harare City v Chapungu (Rufaro)
Triangle v Highlanders (Gibbo)
Other Results Yesterday
TelOne 4, Yadah 1
Mushowani Stars 2, Manica Diamonds 2
The Herald
