THE highly-anticipated Big Harare Derby between old enemies Dynamos and Caps United that had been scheduled for the weekend, has been cancelled again after the two clubs, who have three players each in the Warriors squad for the African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier, asked the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) to postpone the match.
BY HENRY MHARA
The PSL had scheduled the outstanding fixture for Sunday at the National Sports Stadium, but the supporters of the two teams will have to wait a little longer for the blockbuster encounter.
Dynamos have Ocean Mushure, Obey Mwerahari and Emmanuel Mandiranga, while Caps United have Ronald Chitiyo, Abbas Amidu and Moses Muchenje selected in the Warriors squad to play Namibia in Windhoek in the Chan Southern Zone first round first leg match.
A club that has three or more players on national duty can exercise their prerogative to have their fixture postponed.
In a statement yesterday, the PSL announced they had postponed the match.
“The Premier Soccer League has postponed the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match between Dynamos FC and Caps United FC scheduled for Sunday July 16, 2017,” the statement read.
“This has been necessitated by the involvement of the players from the two clubs in the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament. The match will be rescheduled to a later date. The midweek fixtures between Caps United v How Mine and Bulawayo City v Caps United remain as scheduled.”
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Caps United are scheduled to host How Mine at the National Sports Stadium on Wednesday, and then travel to Bulawayo for the City match on Saturday, a day before the Warriors host Namibia in the reverse fixture.
The two matches remain doubtful though, as it is highly unlikely that the Warriors will break camp when they return from Windhoek.
This is the second time that the Big Harare Derby, which was initially scheduled for May, has been called off.
The Match Day Seven fixture was postponed due to lack of an alternative venue, as the National Sports Stadium was booked for a church crusade, while Rufaro Stadium is still undergoing renovations.
The postponement of the match will give the PSL a headache as fixtures continue to pile-up.
And in trying to decongest, the PSL have decided to do away with the two-week mid-season break that teams have normally enjoyed in previous years.
But the latest postponement of the Big Harare Derby could come as a huge relief to Caps United, who can do with some days off following a hectic schedule in the Caf Champions League and domestic league.
The Green Machine arrived back in the country on Tuesday afternoon from Algeria, where they lost 4-1 to USM Alger in a Group B match, to bow out of the continent’s premier club competition.
Meanwhile, Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa and his Cameroonian striker, Christian Ntouba were voted Coach and Player of the Month for June, following the club’s stellar performance.
The Harare giants played five matches in the period, winning four, while the other one against Chapungu was abandoned just before the hour mark, with Mutasa’s boys cruising at 4-0.
The match was stopped when a goal post fell and the home side, Chapungu, has been charged for the mishap.
