Mangwiro a happy man Taurai Mangwiro
Taurai Mangwiro

Taurai Mangwiro

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
CAPS United coach Taurai Mangwiro was in buoyant mood yesterday as he completed a rare training session where he had all his players available for selection ahead of their cagey Castle Lager Premiership clash against Bantu Rovers tomorrow.The Green Machine will travel to Hartsfield in Bulawayo for a date with lowly Bantu Rovers and Mangwiro is not taking anything for granted as CAPS United seek to keep pace with the leading trio of Dynamos, Highlanders and ZPC Kariba.

For the first time this season, Mangwiro had all his players back at training and fighting for places on the travelling party.

CAPS United have been unlucky with injuries during the season with key players like striker Dominic Chungwa, skipper Tapiwa Khumbuyani, Ronald Pfumbidzai, Pervington Zimunya, Moses Muchenje and Kelvin Bulaji having been affected.

Even Zambian holding midfielder Modalisa Mwanza, who has not seen a lot of game time at CAPS United owing to a long term ankle injury was back at training and vying for a place in Mangwiro’s team.

“We have just completed one of our best sessions in that for the first time this season we have a full complement including Modalisa Mwanza, who had gone back to Zambia from where he was recuperating from an ankle injury,” said Mangwiro.

“It is a positive headache that one could have as a coach because it always gives you a lot of selection options. If one has been closely following Bantu Rovers’ games throughout, one can see that results may not have gone their way but they have been paying well and they still have a lot of hope, they have not thrown in the towel.

“When we played them at home, the game ended 1-0, we had moments when we could have scored about five goals but once we let them off the hook, they regrouped and in the end they forced a tense finish to the game.

“So we are not going to read much into their standing on the log table, we just want to continue improving on our away record because in the first half of the season that was our greatest undoing.

“I am glad though that the players have shown a lot of commitment to continuously improve on our performances and that is what we need.”

The CAPS United gaffer, however, insisted that he was not flattered by their rise into fourth place and the fact that they are just two points behind Dynamos or a point shy of Bosso.

“We have been saying to the team, it is fine that we have done fairly well so far but we need to concentrate more on our own business and not what the others are doing and in this regard we need to stay focused,” said Mangwiro.

As CAPS United travel to Hartsfield for their league clash against Bantu Rovers, Mangwiro said the Green Machine would also have one eye on the ZNA Charity Shield final showdown against Norman Mapeza’s FC Platinum at Mandava on Saturday.

“It might be dubbed the Charity Shield final but we will give the match the seriousness that it deserves.  CAPS United were known as Cup Kings so we need to restore some of that pride and start the process of reclaiming that status and we have to do so by grabbing any cup that comes our way,’’ Mangwiro said.

But with Dynamos and Highlanders in action against Chiredzi and Buffaloes at Rufaro and Hartsfield today, Mangwiro will also be hoping for a slip-up by CAPS United’s bitter rivals that could see his team end the day on top of the table tomorrow.

 

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