Feel it, The Harare Derby!

13 Jul, 2014 - 06:07 0 Views
Feel it, The Harare Derby! NO LOVE LOST . . . Caps United’s Tendai Samanja (left) and Dynamos striker Washington Pakamisa are set to be in the thick of things as the Harare Derby explodes this afternoon

The Sunday Mail

NO LOVE LOST . . . Caps United’s Tendai Samanja (left) and Dynamos striker Washington Pakamisa are set to be in the thick of things as the Harare Derby explodes this afternoon

NO LOVE LOST . . . Caps United’s Tendai Samanja (left) and Dynamos striker Washington Pakamisa are set to be in the thick of things as the Harare Derby explodes this afternoon

TODAY’S Harare Derby can go either way or neither way. It’s just too tight to call. There are no guarantees that the encounter will be full of class and craft. However, one can be rest assured that there will be lots of graft and emotions as city rivals Caps United and Dynamos square up in a Castle Premier Soccer League tie worth much more than three points at the National Sports Stadium.
Kick-off is at 3pm.

US$3 is the cheapest ticket.
Makepekepe are the home side but DeMbare can also feel equally at home as the rivals – just like Inter Milan and AC Milan in Italy share the San Siro but not the dressing room!

Tied on 26 points after 14 outings, both teams, who meet again in the reverse leg at the same venue next Sunday, spent most of the week doing their best to talk the talk.
Now it’s time to walk that talk.

At Caps United, goalkeeper Jorum Muchambo is finally having his time in the sun, having relegated veteran Tafadzwa Dube to the bench.
His coming on board has coincided with Makepekepe’s virtuoso run, which has kept them in the league title equation, despite crippling financial challenges, as the season reaches the half way mark.

Muchambo was in goal when Caps United edged Dynamos 1-0 in the ZNA Charity Shield semi-final in May but he is all too aware that today’s tie is the real deal. Just how far the much-travelled goalie has grown into becoming the Makepekepe number one gloveman will be judged by how well he performs, or does not perform, against a Dynamos outfit that has over the years mastered the art of chocking the Green Machine without needing to break much sweat.

Moses “Supplier” Muchenje and Hardlife Zvirekwi got the goals as Caps United beat Chicken Inn 2-1 last weekend and the pair are expected to be part of a midfield that will also feature a rejuvenated Tendai Samanja and Gerald Phiri.

Zvirekwi should be making a big career call in the coming weeks with several clubs, both foreign and local, after his signature.
The interest in the Warriors defender comes amid a strain in his relationship with the Caps United fans following his recent decision to pull out of the trip to Chapungu in protest against the non-payment of bonuses.

Dominic Chungwa and Leonard Fiyado should lead the Caps United attack.
If there is a weakness in the Caps United amour, it’s a defence that has shipped in 16 goals in 14 matches.
Makepekepe’s strength is a midfield that has the right balance between artistes and artisans.

From the blue corner rookie right back Blessing “Bisto” Moyo, a genuine 19-year- old with genuine pace, is having a dream debut season.
He should be part of a back four that will have the height deficient centre half pairing of skipper Partson Jaure and Themba Ndlovu as well as the left back Ocean Mushure in its ranks.

Moyo has been doing business like Dynamos owes him a life.
A boy of his age will have to possess something special to relegate a lad like Oscar Machapa, who is a decent right back himself, to the bench.
Moyo appears to have that something special.

Having grown through the DeMbare ranks and watched as the club moved in and took care of his every basic need following the passing away of his father, the youngster appears to have the Dynamos logo tattooed on his heart.
Veteran Murape Murape believes Moyo is a boy who can “carry the DeMbare culture” when he retires.

Now that’s quite an endorsement.
While the DeMbare back line looks cast in stone, despite Mushure’s dip in form, stand-in coach Philimon Mutyakureva has tough midfield calls to make as the experiment to play Devon Chafa just in front of Stephen Alimenda has made the side rigid going forward.
Ronald Chitiyo’s bright start to the season now seems like a distant memory and the former Monomotapa man can point to being shunted to the wings, away from the hole behind the strikers, as a contributing factor.

Rodrick Mutuma and Washington Pakamisa should lead the DeMbare attack once again with the Dynamos technical team impressed with the way the two have put in extra training as they seek to find rapport.

Their debut partnership outing against Black Rhinos last Sunday ended in a 2-1 DeMbare victory but there was little interplay between Mutuma and Pakamisa.
They were poles apart.

It’s something that seized Mutyakureva in the build-up to the tie this afternoon.
An appalling conversion rate, of less than a goal per game, is DeMbare’s weakest link while a mean defence, which has conceded just seven goals in 14 matches, is the Glamour Boys’ strong point.

It’s here, the Harare Derby Part 1.
Super Sunday fixtures
CAPS United v Dynamos (National Sports Stadium), Black Rhinos v How Mine (Rimuka), Buffaloes v Chiredzi (Sakubva), Triangle v Chapungu (Gibbo), Highlanders v Bantu Rovers (Barbourfields).

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