Sean Connor is surely a happy man. After 10 games, an abandoned match, an unfulfilled fixture and riotous fans — who would have thought Caps United would one day conjure four wins in a row to move into fourth position on the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League log?
After a terrible start to the season and loud calls to have manager Sean Connor sacked, Caps United now appear stable and consistent.
The Harare giants’ 1-0 win away to league newcomers Hardbody over the weekend underlined their somewhat miraculous revival. Goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda blasted home a trademark free-kick to confirm his team as current top performer in the league in the last four weeks. During the period under review, Caps United have won all their matches, starting against Quelaton, Blue Rangers, FC Platinum and Hardbody.
This remarkable record has seen them moving away from the relegation zone and are now perched pretty at fourth position with 17 points, just six shy of log leaders Highlanders.
Credit should deservedly go to Connor, who despite pressures he faced from supporters and the media at the start, managed to remain cool. He called for calm, promising that results would one day come.
While the plea sounded wild at the time, it seems the man knew what he was doing and the results are now evident.
The Irishman has surely reinvented his reputation to the extent that some, perhaps prematurely, are beginning to suggest he might win the championship in his debut season.
At this stage, it is impossible to say where Caps United’s season would end.
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They may, over the next couple of games, slide back towards the relegation zone, but events of the past four games have shown the team is very capable of challenging for honours.
Second on the form table is Highlanders, who despite being held to a 0-0 draw by city rivals Chicken Inn on Sunday, retained the top position on the log table.
The Bulawayo giants collected 10 points from a possible 12 to take their points tally to 23 with a game in hand against Dynamos still to come. Surprise package Buffaloes are not far off Highlanders on the form table.
The Mutare-based side also has 10 points from four matches and like Highlanders, they were held last Sunday. The army side were held to a 2-2 draw by Gunners, who complained of bad officiating after the match.
Last season league runners up FC Platinum have collected nine points from their last four matches and their 2-0 win over Quelaton at home on Saturday saw the Zvishavane-based side maintaining their second position on the log with 18 points.
Blue Rangers, Quelaton and Hardbody have the worst form, having managed just a point in their last four matches.
The trio are sitting at the basement of the log table with Rangers at three points from 10 matches, while Quelaton and Hardbody have four and seven points respectively.
All midweek matches, according to Premier Soccer League chief executive officer Kennedy Ndebele, have been cancelled to facilitate the Warriors’ preparations for their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations second leg qualifier against Burundi on Sunday.
Top goal scorers Nelson Mazivisa (Shabanie) 9 Ali Sadiki (FC Platinum) 6 Takesure Chinyama (Dynamos) 5 Kudakwashe Musharu (Monomotapa) 5 Milton Ncube (Highlanders) 5 Graham Ncube (Highlanders) 5 Rodwell Chinyengetere (Hwange) 5
