Chitembwe laments Nhivi loss Lloyd Chitembwe
Lloyd Chitembwe

Lloyd Chitembwe

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe says Simba Nhivi will be a great loss if contract talks to persuade the key forward to stay fail to yield results. Nhivi’s future with the champions is hanging in the balance after he raised issues with the club’s management before he could commit himself. The forward, who played a key role in the campaign last season, is believed to have received a concrete offer from Tanzania, but wants CAPS United to better that deal or he could leave the Green Machine.

The champions have helped Nhivi find his feet again after being rejected by South African clubs, and Chitembwe showed confidence in him by giving him a lot of game time last year.

But his contract expired last year and while Nhivi has played for Makepekepe in the Champions League, he didn’t avail himself for the Green Machine’s opening match against Shabanie Mine which ended goalless last week.

And Chitembwe yesterday told reporters that Nhivi’s absence has come as a big blow. The Green Machine host Harare City at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.

“Simba has always been an important part of the team. You know, when you talk of Simba I’m talking of someone who has great cognitive ability on the pitch. He is one player who is very comfortable in playing different functions and roles on the pitch.

“Not many players can do that, but with Simba for us you could play him as a wide midfielder, you could play him as the top man, you could play him as the second striker and he would do that with great efficiency.

“It’s sad not to have him within the group, but all the same we just have to respect his feelings. If he sees it fit to discontinue I am sure we just have to respect that. “Personally, for me as the coach, he was one kind of a player I really wanted to work with considering what he was giving to the team.

“All the same the focus now is on the players that are there and I strongly feel those that are there are as good Simba and it’s also up to them to up their game a bit so that they give us what Simba was giving to us,” said Chitembwe.

After opening the campaign with a point, Makepekepe want a change of fortunes at the giant stadium where Chitembwe has never tasted defeat in open play since he returned for another stint with the team nearly two years ago.

CAPS United leadership maintained they have done their bit and are waiting on the striker to put pen to paper, but Nhivi’s manager Gibson Mahachi told The Herald that there were still some “outstanding issues” that are personal which the player has raised.

“Of course, the player has raised some concerns, but I am sure are being addressed by CAPS United. It’s something confidential between the player and the club. Probably the club should explain the sticking points, but these are not new issues,” said Mahachi.

However, Chitembwe is still happy with the quality of strikers at his disposal. “Honestly speaking I think it’s out of imagination that we might be struggling in front of goal. My honest feeling is that we haven’t been struggling as people might want to put it.

“Point number two, it’s not only the position of the strikers to score goals, it’s responsibility of the entire team to score goals as it is the responsibility of the whole team to defend.

“In our situation when you also look at the type of opposition especially in the Champions League you don’t expect to score as much goals, but I was very impressed that in the last two games that we played in the Champions League the goals that we got were obviously scored by forwards, which shows the quality of strikers that we have,” said Chitembwe.

Makepekepe are also likely to go into battle without goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda who has been grounded by injury. Chitembwe said Sibanda’s chances of making the team on Sunday are evenly balanced.

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