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Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
CAPS United skipper Tapiwa Khumbuyani feels it’s high time his side returns to winning ways as they prepare to face How Mine in the Castle Lager Premier League match at Rufaro on Sunday.
The team will face a wounded How Mine who were well beaten 1-3 by Highlanders in the Chibuku Super Cup recently.

The Green Machine suffered back-to-back defeats to FC Platinum, including a demoralising 0-6 thrashing.

And Khumbuyani believes it’s about time they put behind their poor run.

“We are now ready to pursue the league championship after our failed bid in the Charity Cup and the Chibuku Super Cup,” said the skipper.

“We are still in the race for the league title and we are hopeful that we can get a positive result so as to maintain pressure on those leading teams.

“We have a good team and the players are motivated to so expect to come out with a positive result.

“Our intention is now to win the league as we have a strong team with a lot of good players who can produce results and morale has been high in our camp ahead of the match.”

Makepekepe are in fourth place in the championship race and trail leaders Dynamos, who are on 42 points, with eight matches left before the end of the season, by four points.

Khumbuyani said they will just concentrate on their matches and collect as many points as they can and hope that other results, involving other teams, will favour their cause.

“We will try and focus on our matches because looking too much into other teams’ results may disturb us,” said Khumbuyani.

“We will take each game as it comes and I still believe we can take the (league) honours.”

Midfield enforcer, Tendai Samanja, said their aim was to give their fans something to cheer their spirits with a win against How Mine on Sunday.

He believes that a victory could give the Green Machine the fuel they need to complete the turnaround needed to be champions for the first time in nine years. “If we can manage to win this game then we will start from there. Our aim is to bring back the team into contention for the league title which I believe we are capable of doing.

“The race is still open and I am happy that we are also in the race going into the last eight games of the league campaign,” said Khumbuyani.

All the Big Three — Dynamos, Highlanders and CAPS United — have suffered shock defeats to How Mine in previous meetings in various League and Cup encounters.

CAPS United, in particular, are still reeling from their last meeting with How Mine in the league in May this year where they were beaten 2-0 at Luveve with Wonder Sithole and Kuda Musharu on target.

How Mine are now under the guidance of Luke Masomere.

Masomere’s side should not be underrated, despite falling to Highlanders in the Chibuku Super Cup last weekend where their frailty in dealing with aerial balls was exposed.

Recently they handed ZPC Kariba their second defeat of the season following a 3-2 win.

The CAPS United ship hit stormy waters in the past two weeks after players protested the non-payment of their salaries and allowances.

The problems saw the Green Machine stuttering to a goalless draw against Bantu Rovers leaving them four points off the pace with eight matches left before the end of the campaign.

The Green Machine leaked half-a-dozen goals against FC Platinum in the Zimbabwe National Army Charities Shield at Mandava a fortnight ago before being edged 0-1 by the same opponents to crash out of the Chibuku Super Cup.

On Sunday, CAPS United will miss the services of defender Stephen Makatuka who was sent off in the drawn tie against Bantu Rovers.