BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA THE return of midfielder Devon Chafa to the Caps United camp has boosted the team’s arsenal ahead of its Castle Lager Premiership tie against Herentals at the weekend.
Chafa did not play a part in the 1-1 draw against Bulawayo giants Highlanders after he complained of a stomach ache just a day before the encounter, forcing coach Lloyd Chitembwe to leave him out of the team.
The absence of the veteran midfielder enforcer who usually plays alongside Tatenda Tavengwa, forced Chitembwe to pick forward Rodwell Chinyengetere to play deep in midfield to fill in the gap.
The changes worked for the Caps United gaffer whose side led 1-0 against a formidable Highlanders side at the National Sports Stadium but ended up sharing the spoils courtesy of a spectacular Nqobizitha Masuku free kick.
In the end, a draw was perhaps a fair result.
Had Highlanders not profited from the set piece struck with the efficiency of a debt collector by skipper Masuku deep into the second half, Caps United could have walked away with the three points. More importantly, it could have been their sixth game without conceding a goal thus far, statistics which underline their defensive solidity.
“He (Chafa) is back at training. He is now fine and looking forward to the match against Herentals,” said team manager Shakespear Chinogwenya.
Caps United are on eighth position, with 11 points from eight matches and are eight points behind log leaders Chicken Inn and are desperately in need of a victory to close the gap in their bid to win the championship which they last lifted in 2016.
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But they will not have it their own way against a plucky Herentals which has thus far made a statement of its intentions with just two defeats in eight matches.
That brave performance has thrust the Students in sixth place on the log table with 14 points, five behind leaders Chicken Inn. The Students were implicated in an alleged match-fixing scandal two years ago which threatened their future in the top flight but now appear determined to disprove the allegations and demonstrate they are serious contenders and don’t deserve to play in the second tier league.
After all the Students were incentivised by their convincing 3-1 victory over the Green Machine in the two teams’ last league meeting two years ago.
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