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NewsDay

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No Charities between Caps, Dynamos

Sport
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, Caps United, have declared war on bitter rivals, Dynamos, as they face off in the semi-final of the Zimbabwe National Army Charities Shield at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, Caps United, have declared war on bitter rivals, Dynamos, as they face off in the semi-final of the Zimbabwe National Army Charities Shield at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

By Tawanda Tafirenyika

The Green Machine, who are playing in the Champions League, will be using the match to measure their preparedness for the clash against five-time African champions, TP Mazembe, in the first round next month.

Caps United laboured to a 2-1 victory over Lesotho champions, Lioli, on Sunday to advance to the first round proper of the prestigious African Champions League.

And they will be taking the match seriously to boost their confidence ahead of the clash.

Assistant coach, Tostao Kwashi, told reporters that it was one of the biggest matches of the season.

He said they would not be carried away by the fact that they are champions, but would remain grounded and work hard to once again come out with the bragging rights.

“This is an important match for us. Dynamos and Caps United are two big institutions and their meetings are like Goliath versus Goliath. They want to kill us and we want to kill them. It’s going to be war. We have respect for them (Dynamos), but as reigning champions, we remain humble. We want to keep on learning and improving. We are not taking anything for granted and come Sunday we will be up for it,” he said.

Dynamos captain, Ocean Mushure, drew laughter from journalists when he suggested that even if Dynamos and Caps United were playing for nothing”, it would still be a high-profile and difficult encounter.

He said his team, which struggled last term to finish in a disappointing fifth position at the end of the campaign, had rebuilt and was determined to atone for that.

“We want to thank the sponsors for bringing this tournament. We have been preparing and are ready for it. We didn’t have a good season last time, but now we are working as a team and we are looking forward to the match. We want to take the opportunity to avenge the defeat we suffered at the hands of Caps United last season. It is always a difficult match against Caps United. Even if there is no prize money for it, no one wants to be beaten,” he said.

This year’s tournament has a $60 000 sponsorship, with the organisers saying the winners would walk away with $12 000, while the runners-up would pocket $8 000.

Highlanders and FC Platinum will battle it out in another semi-final at Barbourfields Stadium for the right to play in the final.

Last season, eight teams participated in the tournament, but the organisers decided to invite four teams this time around.

Highlanders are the defending champions.

They edged Harare City 4-2 on penalties to claim the title and walked away $12 000 richer, while Harare City got $8 000 for their efforts. And the Bulawayo giants, who had a decent campaign under Dutch coach, Erol Akbay, last season, will be hoping to defend their title.