CAPS date TP Mazembe

By Petros Kausiyo

AFTER conquering the capital in the four-team Africa Safari Challenge tournament, CAPS United will get their first international test when they clash against visiting African champions TP Mazembe at Rufaro this afternoon.

The high profile encounter kicks-off at 3:30pm.

CAPS United were ruthless in the manner they went about winning the four team tourney, which included Gunners, bitter rivals Dynamos and fellow Confede-ration Cup representatives Lengthens.

Dynamos and Gunners will represent Zimbabwe in the Champions League while CAPS United and Lengthens will fly the country’s flag in the Confedera-tion Cup.

Of the three Zimbabwean clubs that will be in action on the continent, Gunners who will fly out to Tanzania on Thursday to face Mafunzo FC of Zanzibar, are the only local side who will be playing away for their preliminary round, first leg assignment.

As was the case with Monomotapa in their match against Miembemi of Zanzibar last year, Gunners will also have to face the Zanzibari in Dar es Salaam.

Makepekepe sounded early warning shots of their pedigree to go beyond the preliminary stages of the Confederation Cup this time around with some nearly flawless displays on Saturday and Sunday.

Lloyd Chitembwe’s men began the weekend with a 4-1 destruction of Lengthens that was spiced up by an awesome attacking game around Ghanaian striker Frank Adu Kwame and Congolese winger Yves Ebabali and the bustling Vincent Nzombe.

Makepekepe then sealed their success with a convincing 3-0 destruction of Dynamos with Nzombe and the Warriors pair of Nyasha Mushekwi and Tafadzwa Rusike scoring for the Green Machine.

Now CAPS United who are preparing to face Swaziland outfit Mbabane Highlanders at Rufaro on Saturday, will get the first real test of their preparedness for the continental assignment.

Rarely does a local club get an opportunity to play the African Champions who are also preparing for their Super Cup clash against Mali’s Confederation Cup winners Stade Malien.

And once TP Mazembe, who have been charmed by Harare and have fallen in love with this country, chose to return here for their training camp, CAPS United grabbed the opportunity to play them to gauge their strength.

CAPS United chief executive, Maxwell Mironga, in urging his team’s fans to turn up at Rufaro said they had pegged the entry charges at $3 for the rest of the ground, $5 for the Upper grandstand and $10 for the VIP arena.

"We are asking our supporters to once again come and cheer their team on as they try to prove that they can match TP Mazembe. This is an important match for the CAPS United family because this is a rare chance to play the African Champions on their way to the African Super Cup.

"We understand they have brought their full strength squad and we are also at full strength and we would want to carry on from where we left off at the weekend as we prepare for the game against Mbabane Highlanders,’’ Mironga said.

The game had earlier appeared to have hung in the balance after Zifa and the Sport and Recreation Commission noted that TP Mazembe had not sought the two parties’ clearance when they arrived in Harare for their latest tour of duty.

Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya then wrote to the Sports Commission after which a meeting between the supreme sports body, Department of Immigration officials, TP Mazembe officials and the association was held.

The Congolese Football Association also wrote to Zifa yesterday afternoon over the matter.

Rushwaya then emerged from the indaba between all the parties with the news that: "TP Mazembe have been reprimanded that whenever they are undertaking such tours they need clearance so that in the event of a mishap to them we are not asked to deliberate over issues we are not in any way party to’’.

"While we appreciate and applaud the coming in of foreign teams, we also feel it is prudent that no football team should come in and out of the country without the consent of the Football Association and approval of the SRC,’’ Rushwaya said.

But away from the technical glitch over protocol, Mazembe who have registered four former Monomotapa players — Daniel Zokoto, Chris Semakweri, Mthulisi Maphosa and Darryl Nyandoro — for their Champions League defence, have also brought in their Zambian internationals.

Nyandoro and Semakweri are understood to have been instant hits at TP Mazembe and could feature prominently in this afternoon’s game.

The flamboyant Lumbumbashi-based outfit have also brought in their Zambian internationals — Given Singuluma, Stoppira Sunzu, Hichani Simonde and Sebastian Mwanza. Defenders Sunzu and Simonde had a decent African Cup of Nations outing for Zambia’s Chipolopolo in Angola last month and should give the CAPS United strikers a good test of their sharpness.

Singuluma also has an eye for goal and should help examine the tightness of Method Mwanjali, Nyasha Mukumbi, Gilbert Mapemba and Ronald Sengu in the CAPS United rearguard.

Although his charges got a major confidence boost to their preparations with their triumph over the weekend, Chitembwe is still demanding more and will immediately put behind him their victories over Lengthens and Dynamos.

"I think the weekend games served their purpose, which was to try and look at the team, assess the players and the combinations we have.

"As for the results it was something that came out of what we are trying to achieve, you could see that we also tried different options for instance we tried Method in a midfield defensive role and also at centre back. There is still a lot of work to be done with this team but based on potential I think we have a good side.

"I must, however, add that results are not based on potential alone. We have to work hard to achieve those results and the good thing is that this team has ambition to do well in the Confederation Cup and I think that is what is driving the players regardless of who we play,’’ Chitembwe said.

Such is the potential of the squad at his disposal that Chitembwe has had to offload the quartet of Danger Fourpence, Zambian Clive Mwale, Leonard Tsipa and Edmore Mawine.