Caps United coach Darlington Dodo has said his team has not been deflated by their setback against Chapungu and will look to reignite their title fight when they clash with Black Rhinos at the National Sports Stadium this afternoon.
By Gerald Mutsvairo
Both teams go into the match desperate for wins after Caps lost in their last outing, while Black rhinos lost their last three matches and have seen their championship challenge start struggling for oxygen.
Dodo will be desperate to give Caps United their first win with him at the helm following the departure of Lloyd Chitembwe who joined Harare City.
There has been an air of doubt over Dodo’s capability to maintain the title challenge and he hopes to confound his critics.
He has been boosted by the fact that he will have a full squad available, but Kudzi Nyamupfukudza could miss out through injury.
“The players are okay, we are training hard to make sure that we get back to our best in order to collect three points against Black Rhinos,” he said yesterday. “We are playing a team that has been doing well this season and we respect them, but we will do our best to make sure that we get the result we want. Despite the setback last week, the team’s mentality is okay and players are training well, everyone is happy. We are still in for the league title. We are in the top five and we are confident that tomorrow we are going to win.”
Rhinos coach Herbert Maruwa acknowledged his team faces a tough task against a Green Machine side that has been on song.
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He, however, believes that his team can end a poor run of form that has seen them lose three matches on the trot, resulting in a slide on the league table.
“It’s a tough match, especially for us because we are coming from back-to-back defeats,” he said.
“Caps United are a big side who should be respected and this season they are also looking competitive. But we are going to play the match with a positive mentality because we need those three points. The team is sharp and everyone is positive. It’s going to be a good game. The boys are working hard and are looking fit. Only Allan Gadzikwa will be out nursing an injury.”
Boldly declaring that his team will win the league title this season, he added: “I am very confident that Black Rhinos will win the league title. We are only five points behind the log leaders and we still have 14 games to play. We are hoping to return to winning ways starting tomorrow (today) against Caps United.”
