STRUGGLING army side Black Rhinos are confident of ending Caps United’s fine run when they two sides clash in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
Stanford “Stix” Mtizwa’s men have endured a spate of dreadful results after a storming start to the campaign.
The army side were at one stage on top of the league table after putting together some fine wins, including the big victory over Bulawayo giants Highlanders.
Their good run even raised hope among their fans they could go all the way and lift the league title.
However, they have struggled for fluency in their last five matches, where they are winless and even suffered a loss at the hands of Bantu Rovers.
At the weekend, they were edged 1-0 by Chicken Inn, a result that lifted the Gamecocks to the top of the league table.
However, Mtizwa yesterday said his charges were playing well, but were failing to convert chances coming their way.
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He said despite the defeat to Chicken Inn, he was impressed by the overall performance.
“Our biggest problem has been on the finishing aspect. In our match against Chicken Inn, we played very well and created chances, but our finishing has been poor,” he said.
“This is the area we have been working on and against Caps United, we are looking forward to winning the match. We have rectified those mistakes, so we are looking forward to a positive result.
“We know Caps United are in top form at the moment, but we have also done our homework.”
Black Rhinos will, however, be missing midfielder Wonder Kapita and left-back Farai Banda through injury.
Caps United will be looking to continue with their fine run and big goalkeeper Edmore “Zikeeper” Sibanda said they were not worried about what their opponents were doing, but were just pushing to achieve the target they set for themselves.
“We are focused on our objectives. We have set ourselves a target and this is what we are aiming to achieve,” he said.
“It was unfortunate I didn’t finish the match on Sunday after I picked an injury. It’s a recurring injury which I am just trying to manage.
“I think I will be back for the match against Black Rhinos, I am just trying to manage it.”
The Green Machine will, however, still be without Tafadzwa “Fire” Rusike, who, despite recovering from an injury that has kept him on the sidelines for some time now, he has been hit by a bout of flu.
Defender Stephen Makatuka is also out of the clash after missing the big victory over Ngezi Platinum because of illness.
Although he is now out of hospital, he is yet to recover to full fitness.
But that should not be a worry for Caps United as Justice Jangano can fill in the gap after he put on a polished performance against Ngezi Platinum, having been struggling to hold a starting place in the team.
