The Sunday Mail
Patrick Chitumba in Zvishavane
FC Platinum…………………………………..(3) 3
CAPS United…………………………………..0
TROUBLED CAPS United suffered yet another blow when they were outplayed by champions FC Platinum in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League tie at Mandava Stadium yesterday.
Coming from yet another tough week in which their camp was rocked by in-house turmoil, CAPS United had been hoping to show their fans they had put their troubles behind them.
Instead, the visitors, who fired some of their players for organising a strike, had a forgettable start to the game and by half time the encounter was over as a contest.
Walter Musona, Hagiazo Magaya and teenage forward Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya found the target for FC Platinum.
Musona, who had a stint with Polokwane City in South Africa, opened the scores after 17 minutes with a thunderous free-kick from outside the box.
At that point, it was not clear where the tide was headed, but the hosts asserted their dominance when Magaya doubled the lead with a powerful effort from outside the box.
What made matters worse for Makepekepe was that they were ineffective upfront, with their chief striker William Manondo chasing shadows.
In fact, they spent the whole first half without a single shot on target and the closest they came to troubling the FC Platinum rearguard was in the 23rd minute when the miners’ former striker, Rodrick Chinyengetere, unbelievably missed the target with goalkeeper Wallace Magalane at his mercy.
It was the first time that Chinyengetere was playing at Mandava since his move to CAPS United at the start of the year.
FC Platinum ensured the game was theirs to lose after 42 minutes when Ngwenya nodded home from a curling Musona corner-kick.
The game degenerated into a lacklustre affair in the second half as both sides put up a lethargic show, although it was CAPS United who tried to fight back.
FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza chose to draw more positives from his team’s first-half performance and the fact that it was their first win over CAPS United at Mandava.
“The result made me absolutely happy because the boys played well in the first half.
“However, the second half wasn’t pleasing at all. We still need to work on endurance, especially in the second half.
“I thought we were going to concede goals in the second half but we were lucky that our opponents were not that effective in front of goal.
“That was our luck.
“For this game, I am also thrilled by the fact that we managed to beat CAPS United for the first time at Mandava.
“It’s a good improvement from the defeat last weekend,’’ Mapeza said.
He also demanded more consistency from his side.
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe believes the result was a reflection of his team’s “lack of concentration’’.
“It wasn’t good at all. We were very slow in this first half, the body language was just pathetic, but I thought we tried hard to fight back in the second half, but they (FC Platinum) defended well.
“I don’t know what was the reason for the lack of concentration in such a crucial game. We lost and now it’s going to be a lot of work to try to raise the players’ confidence,’’ Chitembwe said.
TEAMS:
FC PLATINUM:
W Magalane, G Mbweti, G Bello, W Stima, K Mangiza, B Banda (I Mucheneka 85’), B Moyo, H Magaya (R Pavari 61), P Mutimbanyoka (N Makumbe 85), W Musona (O Bhebhe 86’), T Ngwenya (O Abubakar 90’)
CAPS UNITED:
T Mateyaunga, K Bulaji, M Machazane (I Nyoni 80), J Dzingai, V Musarurwa, D Chafa, E Karembo, J Tulani, P Bamusi, R Chinyengetere, W Manondo
