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NewsDay

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Mbada derby: Caps United aim to break jinx

Sport
Caps United chief executive officer Maxwell Mironga has said his team is ready to break the Dynamos jinx when the two teams clash in an explosive Mbada Diamond Cup first round match at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday. The Green Machine has failed to beat their city rivals in three attempts this season. The […]

Caps United chief executive officer Maxwell Mironga has said his team is ready to break the Dynamos jinx when the two teams clash in an explosive Mbada Diamond Cup first round match at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The Green Machine has failed to beat their city rivals in three attempts this season. The two fierce rivals first met in a pre-season friendly match, but Dynamos came out tops with a 3-2 win.

The two league games that the two teams contested this year have also yielded a similar outcome.

Dynamos won the first match 1-0 before they fought from behind to win 2-1 in the reverse fixture to complete a double.

In fact, the last time Caps United won the famous Harare derby was in 2009 when a Nyasha Mushekwi brace sank Dynamos at Rufaro.

Since then, the clashes between the two sides have favoured the blue side of the city. However, Mironga on Thursday told NewsDay Sport that his team was ready to reclaim the city’s bragging rights from their noisy neighbours.

“It will be a very tough match, but we hope to do well in this competition. Dynamos have beaten us twice in the league this season but this is a different competition altogether and the stakes are a bit high this time around,” said Mironga

The winner of the Mbada Diamond Cup will get a cool $75 000 in prize money, a floating trophy plus a ticket to represent the country in the 2012 Caf Confederations Cup competition.

Mbada will also provide $150 000 to set off costs that are associated with participating in the African Safari, in addition to the $25 000 kit sponsorship while runners-up will get a $50 000 consolation.

Mironga admitted that Mbada Diamonds Cup is the only hope for his team to win silverware this season.

Caps United are wobbling in the league as they are currently occupying eighth position with 29 points, with no chance of overtaking the log leaders who are a massive 14 points away with only seven rounds of matches left to play.

The chief executive officer said his team will do everything it takes to win the cup to decorate their trophy cabinet which is seemingly gathering some dust.

So desperate are the former Cup Kings to win the cup that they have recalled their trusted gunman Evans Gwekwerere. Gwekwerere left the country last week for trials with South African giants Orlando Pirates.

“This is our only chance of winning some silverware this season and we are leaving no stone unturned. We requested him (Gwekwerere) to come back for this competition in particular, we want to go all the way.

He arrived here on Sunday and has been training with the team, he will go back for the trials at the end of the season,” added Mironga. In the other camp, Dynamos are still sweating over the availability of striker Cuthbert Malajila for the Sunday match.

The player has not trained with teammates for the better part of the week as he struggles with a groin problem he picked up in his team’s 4-0 league win over Zimbabwe Saints last Sunday.

He was expected to undergo scans on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury and see whether he can make it for the third edition of the Harare derby this season.