Buffaloes 1-2 CAPS United
IMPRESSIVE striker Honey Chutimunzeve and Godknows Mangani's first half goals were all that CAPS United needed to secure a hard fought win over an out-of-sorts Buffaloes in a Castel Lager Premiership tie at Sakubva yesterday.
With six points to play for from two matches, yesterday's results kept alive CAPS United's slim mathematical chances of winning the league.
After Division One bound Bantu Rovers held log leaders Dynamos to a goalless stalemate at Rufaro, Taurai Mangwiro's men are now trailing league defending champions by five points.
Buffaloes were their own enemies and will have none but themselves to blame for yesterday's defeat after their strikers took turns to misuse clear cut scoring chances that they created especially in the first half.
Stocky Buffaloes striker Malvern Fenyeka will probably take much of the blame after he missed a good number of scoring chances especially when he directed his effort wide of target as he failed to beat CAPS United goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube from close range in a one-on-one situation with only two minutes into the match.
The visitors drew first blood with only three minutes into the match when Chutimunzeve headed home Mangani's corner kick.
The home team restored parity three minutes later thanks to a stunning turn and shoot by Fenyeka which left Dube a well beaten man.
However, CAPS United, on a number of occasions, were also guilty of lack of precision in front of goal and could have surged ahead in the 18th minute when a well-positioned Chimutimunzeve's made a mess of an intelligent pass from Gerald Phiri.
With Buffaloes goalkeeper Blessing Mwandimutsira well off the line, Mangani then propelled Makepekepe into the lead in the 40th minute with a bicycle kick from the edge of the box.
Buffaloes tried hard to pile pressure on their opponents in the second half in search of an equaliser but they found their opponents solid in defence.
In a post-match interview, Mangwiro said he has watched a number of Buffaloes matches and his knowledge of the Mutare side helped him craft a game plan that worked well for him.
"I think it was a tremendous fighting spirit from the boys and I am happy with the effort. The whole idea was to take the game to our opponents. I have also watched a number of Buffaloes matches and I think they have a porous defence hence I decided to attack from the onset. We missed a number of scoring opportunities otherwise it could have been an avalanche of goals," he said.
His opposite number, Moses Chunga, who knows full well that his team is not safe from relegation, blamed it on the lack of precision upfront.
"Today we played well but we lacked the killer punch upfront. There are things we have to work on. We also conceded a silly goal which I think contributed immensely to our defeat," he said.
RESULTS
Saturday: FC Platinum 2-0 Chicken Inn, Harare City 2-3 ZPC Kariba
Sunday: Black Rhinos 1-0 Shabanie Mine, Dynamos 0-0 Bantu Rovers, Buffaloes 1-2 Caps United, Triangle United 1-0 Hwange, Highlanders v Chiredzi, How Mine 0-0 Chapungu
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