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Victory dance . . . CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe (centre), assistant coach Fungai “Tastao” Kwashi and a member of Makepekepe’s technical team celebrate Sunday’s win in the Harare Derby at Rufaro

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
AS emotions exploded inside Lloyd Chitembwe at Rufaro on Sunday, with the CAPS United coach gripped by the ecstasy triggered by his club finally exorcising their Harare Derby ghost, it evoked memories of a time when the Green Machine ruled the domestic Premiership.

In that eruption of emotions, for a man who appears to have mellowed with age, Chitembwe just could not hide his boundless joy as he partied — with his triumphant players and backroom staff — with animated celebrations fit for a championship-winning parade right at the home of their greatest rivals.

After seven years of being repeatedly whipped by Dynamos in league battles, with their best performance only good enough for draws, being taunted by their biggest rivals as a Green Machine that always malfunctioned whenever it faced the Glamour Boys, Chitembwe basked in the sunshine of that landmark victory.

Ironically, Chitembwe had been the last CAPS United coach to engineer a league victory over Dynamos on April 12, 2009, when Nyasha Mushekwi’s goals and Oscar Machapa’s wing wizardry combined to power the Green Machine to a 2-0 victory.

Mushekwi’s goals, scored at the City End of Rufaro which houses the CAPS United fans since former Premier Soccer League secretary-general Chris Sibanda came up with the idea of separating the fans of the capital’s two biggest clubs, would mark the last time the Green Machine would celebrate a league victory in the Harare Derby in more than half-a-dozen years.

And, when the moment came to end that lengthy fruitless search for victory in the Harare Derby, the goal that made all the difference for Makepekepe, scrambled home by Dominic Chungwa after the Dynamos defence failed to clear their lines, was also scored on the City End of Rufaro.

It’s a victory that had long been coming.

Since CAPS United’s win in 2009, a lot had happened around the world, as their fans waited for the rain that seemed never to come — the Arab Spring had erupted, Osama Bin Laden was killed, five years ago this week, the FIFA leadership, headed by Sepp Blatter, collapsed under the weight of corruption scandals and Christopher Lee, the actor who rocketed to fame in the horror movie Dracula, died.

And so did iconic singer Joe Cocker, the musician who made us sing along his classic lyrics, “with a little help from my friends.”

Chitembwe had been fired, hired and then fired again in a cycle of retrenchments at CAPS United, a high turnover of personnel in their technical department which even saw the arrival, and inevitable departure, of such clowns-disguised-as-coaches, like Northern Irishman Sean Connor, as the circus in the club’s coaching branch continued.

In sharp contrast, while CAPS United resembled a desert of disorder, their biggest rivals Dynamos were an oasis of order with the Glamour Boys keeping one coach, Callisto Pasuwa, for four years and reaping rich rewards for that as they won four straight league titles under the guidance of their former midfielder.

And it was to another former midfielder, Chitembwe, that CAPS United owner Farai Jere turned to for salvation after the Harare businessman felt his club was not taking steps forward as the Green Machine looked for someone to fill in the shoes of Mark Harrison, who quit in a huff.

Crucially, Chitembwe decided against sacking Mark Mathe, the man who had assembled most of the players with Harrison at the beginning of last year and briefly took over as acting head coach, and the two have been complementing each other very well.

As Chitembwe celebrated on Sunday, rewarded for his masterstroke decision to throw Method Mwanjali into the starting XI, saying he needed his experience in this big game despite all the off-field troubles that had stalked the veteran utility player, and also throwing Archford Gutu into battle when his midfield was crying out for some freshness, it was like a journey back into time when CAPS United represented greatness.

Eleven years ago, when CAPS United last won the league championship, they beat Dynamos in both editions of the Harare Derby with Chitembwe scoring in the second match, which the Green Machine won 2-1, while Leonard Tsipa — who started the match on Sunday — grabbed the winner in the 73rd minute, at just about the time that Dominic Chungwa scored to end the jinx.

Clive Mwale had thrust Dynamos into an early lead, after only two minutes, just about the time Kudzanai Nyakasaka was presented with a golden opportunity to put the Glamour Boys ahead, in the Harare Derby on Sunday after he was picked by a clever pass from Rodreck Mutuma, only for him to fluff his chance.

Artwell Mabhiza and Brian Badza had scored the goals in the first Harare Derby, in 2005, with Desmond Maringwa on target for DeMbare in a losing cause.

A year earlier, CAPS also won the league championship, their first since the turn of the millennium, and they beat Dynamos in their two league matches with Tsipa and Ashley Rambanapasi scoring in the first game, which they won 2-1, and Raymond Undi on target in the second game, which the Green Machine won 1-0.

Chitembwe believes the rich pickings from beating Dynamos — the confidence that it brings to his players, the morale that it boosts in their camp, the feel-good factor that it brings among their fans — is crucial if the Green Machine want to win the league championship and, after that hugely emotional victory on Sunday, he hopes his men can now walk with a spring in their step.

Whether CAPS United can now go on, like the Classes of 2004 and 2005 to complete the double over DeMbare and win the league championship, only time will tell but, for now, let them enjoy their golden moment because, after seven years of pain, they deserve the party.

Joe Cocker might have died, during the period when CAPS United staggered in the darkness, as they failed to find a formula to beat Dynamos, but after they finally did on Sunday — sending Chitembwe into ecstasy — it was clear that while the coach had played his cards right, and deserved to party, it’s an achievement he secured “with a little help from his friends.”