By Ray Bande in MUTARE
Buffaloes…………………………..(0) 0
CAPS United…………………….(0) 1
MOSES Muchenje, one of the key players at CAPS United this season, struck in the second half to give his side a deserved victory over Buffaloes at Sakubva yesterday that kept alive their faint hopes of winning the Castle Lager Premiership title.
The match was played on a muddy pitch. Buffaloes, who are not safe from relegation, will probably look back at their decision to use off-side traps as a favourite weapon in their defensive strategy as their downfall.
The Mutare soldiers paid dearly for that when one such trap left goalkeeper Blessing Mandimutsira badly exposed and an alert Muchenje did well to charge towards goal and fire home 67 minutes in the match.
The goal delighted the predominantly CAPS United crowd on a chilly afternoon at Sakubva after some light showers in the city. It was indeed sweet victory for CAPS United having made up for the defeat in the reverse fixture at home.
The match started at an electric pace, which was surprising given that the muddy pitch was supposed to make life difficult for the players, with both teams intent on seizing the initiative and landing the first big blow.
To their credit, Buffaloes not only repelled everything that their opponents threw at them but also created a number of chances that they somehow failed to put to good use.
Watungwa Watungwa could have been the first on the scoreboard after Wonder Sithole’s fine cross from a corner kick was headed back into the goal area by lanky Prosper Matizanadzo but a flat-footed Jacob Muzokomba missed the ball and failed to tap home from close range.
At the half hour mark, the exciting Hardlife Zirekwi drilled his way past a group of Buffaloes defenders before he sent a low cross that fell into the path of Rahman Kutsanzira with the diminutive forward releasing a scorcher which was, however, blocked by ‘keeper Blessing Mandimutsira.
One of the secret weapons that CAPS United possess is their shrewd coach Taurai Mangwiro and, usually, when he makes a change, you see the difference that it makes.
Yesterday brought in Tendai Samanja and Tawanda ‘Finger” Nyamandwe replacing for Domnic Mukandi and his namesake Dominic Chungwa and it paid dividends as the replacements brought life into the Green Machine.
Muchenje then propelled the Green Machine into the lead when he did well to beat an offside trap and made no mistake as poked the ball home after coming face-to-face with the ‘keeper.
Buffaloes coach, Timothy Masachi, said his team blew away a number of good chances but felt the quality of their play was good, despite going down at home.
“I think we played well as a team. Once again we failed to score and I have always said this is now our biggest challenge. We are not scoring goals in as much as we are creating scoring chances.
“We also went to sleep after conceding that goal.
“We did not show any signs of waiting to take the game to our opponents after we were a goal down,’ said Masachi.
CAPS United assistant coach Saul Chaminuka praised his team for a disciplined show. I think we played well as a team given the state of the pitch. I am happy that my players managed to adjust to the situation and we got what we wanted – the three points,” said Chaminuka. Manica Post
Teams:
Buffaloes: B Mandimutsira, B Mukwena, P Chandisaita, T Ndlovu, S Nyauzima, P Matizanadzo, W Sithole, R Mwenga (P Thembani 75th minute), J Muzokomba (P Mudau 82nd minute), T Mareya (Z Kastigu 75th minute), S Sibanda,
CAPS United: J Muchambo, D Mukandi (T Samanja 58th minute), C Munashe, L Fiyado, A Chivheya, G Phiri, M Muchenje, R Kutsanzira, H Zirekwi, G Magariro, D Chungwa (T Nyamandwe 58th minute):
