CAPS United believe the mini break, due to their first round exit from the Chibuku Super Cup, will give their players time to rest ahead of their final five rounds of Castle Lager Premier Soccer League fixtures, starting with the trip to Border Strikers next week.
BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA
The Green Machine was booted out of the Chibuku Super Cup in the first round by Tsholotsho after a 5-4 penalty shootout defeat two weeks back.
And with the quarter-finals of the tournament set for this weekend and their immediate rivals in the league title race engaged, Caps United will see this period as a time to reload batteries ahead of what promises to be a gruelling final stretch of the title race.
Log leaders, FC Platinum travel to Triangle this weekend, while third-placed Highlanders have a Bulawayo derby against How Mine in the Chibuku tournament,
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Caps United assistant coach, Fungai Tostao Kwashi, whose side beat Hwange at the weekend to maintain their second place on the log and piling pressure on the log leaders, believes the break will not affect their rhythm.
If anything, he said, it was a blessing in disguise, as it would give his players time to recuperate.
“It (the break) will not affect us in any way. We wanted to do well in the Chibuku Super Cup, but we couldn’t go as far as we wanted and we have since moved on. We are looking into the future and our focus is on our next match against Border Strikers,” Kwashi said.
The former Caps United forward described the clash against Border Strikers as one of their biggest tests this season.
Kwashi said the arrival of Luke “Vahombe” Masomere at the relegation-threatened side had boosted morale as shown by their performance in holding FC Platinum last weekend.
“It’s one of our biggest matches this season. Border Strikers have a great coach in Luke Masomere. They also have very good players,” he said.
“They have a Zambian, Michael Mwenya, who was at Caps last season. They also have Kudzanai Kwashi, my younger brother, he plays central midfield. He is a good, intelligent player. He has scored two goals from midfield. There is also Ephraim Mwinga, who was at ZPC Kariba, he is a good centre-back. They all want to prove a point. It will be a tough match. They drew against log leaders FC Platinum, which shows how dangerous they are. They are fighting for their lives and I think it’s one of our biggest games this season.”
Caps United have amassed 50 points and trail FC Platinum by one point with only five matches left in the campaign. They are one of the favourites to land the championship for the first time since 2005 when they won back-to-back titles under Charles Mhlauri.
Caps United also have players on the injury list, who could benefit from the break, among them Tafadzwa Rusike.