Curtworth Masango, Sports Reporter
CAPS United . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) 2
Bulawayo Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) 2
Favourites Caps United squandered many scoring chances and then presented Bulawayo Chiefs an equaliser on a platter as their Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash ended in a draw at Rufaro yesterday.
Striker Jayden Bakari missed at least four close chances and was the subject of abuse from his fans by the time he was taken out late in the second half.
CAPS United were missing the services of leading scorer William Manondo for accumulating three yellow cards and his absence was felt.
Goalkeeper Ashley Rayners cut a lonely figure at the final whistle and had teammates and Bulawayo Chiefs players taking turns to comfort him as he sobbed.
Rayners presented Bulawayo Chiefs with their second goal when he passed the ball straight to Godfrey Muchenje as CAPS United opted to play it from the back.
The four-goal thriller saw Lucky Ndlela score with the game's first shot on target in the 8th minute, setting the tone for an exciting game.
Godknows Murwira almost equalised in the 10th minute with a free-kick, but Prosper Matutu made a brilliant save to keep Amakhosi in the lead.
Kingsley Mureremba then found the equaliser in the 16th minute for CAPS United after being set up by Junior Bunjira.
Phineas Bamusi put CAPS United in the lead in the 39th minute after a beautiful set-up by Mureremba as the hosts took a deserved 2-1 lead.
Jayden Bakari, who had a bad day in front of goal had a chance to put the game out of reach for Bulawayo Chiefs in the 41st minute but missed a sitter, much to his team's frustration.
Muchenje then capitalised on a mistake by Rayners, who played a blind pass in his path and that was to be the last goal of the error-strewn match.
The second half was dull with numerous turnovers by both sets of players although Bakari still had opportunities to win it for CAPS United but was wasteful.
Speaking after the game, CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe said it was a decent game for his side despite the disappointing outcome.
"It was a decent game. We had very good control in the first half of very important moments, and we had much clearer opportunities.
"We played with the right intensity in the first half, we showed much desire to want to play the game. Though we controlled in the second half, the quality had dropped and we misplaced several passes and were not as dominant as we were in the first half," he said.
Manondo is now the club captain after Godknows Murwira was stripped of the armband.
As a result, defender Eric Manokore was the team's captain in the absence of Manondo.
But Chitembwe said they have to appreciate those who did the job on the day and not focus on Manondo's absence.
"Unfortunately he (Manondo) did not play today but he has proved to be an important player for us for the course of the season.
"It is unfair for me to talk about a player who didn't play but it's down to the team. He survives in a team but we appreciate his contributions to the team but it's fair to appreciate those who played today."
He added:
"I am satisfied and encouraged by the recent performances. But the objective is to try and do better and get better with the season."
On the other hand, Bulawayo Chiefs head coach Thulani Sibanda walked out a happy man and pleased by the display.
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"It's a point gained considering the opponent. If you look at the maturity of our team, our boys are still trying to come up with premier league experience.
"For them to come up and show this character I think it's remarkable.
"We have to fight and avoid relegation, and next year this will be among the best teams. It's unfortunate most of them started playing in the PSL this year and having them display what they showed us today is remarkable."
Goalkeeper Prosper Matutu played a pivotal role in keeping the visitors abreast with the host.
Sibanda said his presence is important for their inexperienced squad.
"That's the most experienced player we have in our team, in the last or five games we were losing games because he was injured and we suffered. We are happy he is back. The goals he conceded today could not be avoided and having him comeback is a major boost," he said.
