BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
HARARE football giants Caps United will be hoping to exorcise the demons that saw them fail to beat Triangle in league encounters last year when they travel to the lowveld side on Sunday.
Caps United make the trip to Triangle this weekend hoping for a victory that will see them maintain an impressive run. Lloyd Chitembwe’s men had a flying start to the campaign in which they have won four matches and drawn once to take their points tally to 13, one behind log leaders FC Platinum even though they have a game in hand.
That explosive start to the campaign has given football followers reason to believe they can rekindle their rivalry with champions FC Platinum in 2016 when they pushed each other week by week to incredible heights with the Green Machine eventually being crowned champions of domestic football.
That season, Caps United went for an incredible 14 matches without tasting defeat only to be stopped by Highlanders who edged them 1-0.
However, Triangle is a significant hurdle in their bid to maintain their unbeaten run. The lowveld side under the guidance of Taurai Mangwiro, also a former Caps United coach have proved difficult to break down. Last term they beat Caps United in both league encounters winning 2-0 at the National Sports Stadium and then overcoming them 2-0 at home.
In the preceding season, Caps United beat Triangle at home before they played out a draw at Gibbo.
In 2016 Caps managed a win at Gibbo, while the two drew in Harare.
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While Caps United struggled for form last season, Triangle wrote their own glorious page when they went all the way to winning the Chibuku Super Cup. They also finished a credible fourth position. They might be struggling this season with just two wins, three defeats and one draw, but they can rise, especially against bigger opponents.
However, that should be a source of motivation for Caps United, who have not hidden their desire to win the championship this term.
Sparks are certain to fly in this match as Caps United seek to avenge those defeats. The Harare giants, who had a miserable campaign last season in which they finished eighth, invested heavily during the off season acquiring former Highlanders forward Gabriel Nyoni, one of the fastest players on the domestic scene and another pace winger Phineas Bhamusi who re-joined from Triangle and midfielder Blessing Sarupinda, among several others. And the results have been remarkable.
The Caps United forward line has already banged in nine goals in the campaign thus far, while the defence — a thriving charity for opposing strikers last season in which they shipped in 30 goals, has been transformed with Chitembwe reinventing Valentine Ndaba into an exciting left-back reviving what had started to look like a waning career. With the power and influence of veteran defender Method Mwanjale, Caps United has been solid at the back and has conceded only one goal so far.
