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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter

WHILE many people seem to agree that the Harare Derby has lost some of its spark, Castle Lager Premiership football giants Dynamos and CAPS United are itching to prove otherwise when the traditional football adversaries face off at the National Sports Stadium tomorrow.

Clashes between the two crosstown rivals are always among the major highlights on the calendar since the late 1970s no matter the form and the circumstances.

Historically, the days leading to this encounter are usually punctuated with a lot of buzzing from both divides. But this year, the usual hype appears muted.

It could be a sad reflection of the unfortunate circumstances experienced in both camps recently. Their forwards have not scored a goal in a combined run of 540 minutes.

DeMbare fired blanks in their last two outings against Herentals and Highlanders while Makepekepe have not seen the back of the nets in their last four outings.

It has been quite a rough time on the green side of the capital, where labour issues took hold and as a result, the team suffered five losses on the bounce. That is very much unlike CAPS United!

Dynamos, on the other hand, have been battling their own in-house problems following a public spat between coach Tonderai Ndiraya and his management, leading to the suspension of the coach, just days away from the big fixture.

However, Ndiraya has since been reinstated and he revealed he had quite a challenge working on the far-reaching psychological effects of the unfortunate incident.

“As you are aware, I think a lot happened in the last week which I don’t want to dwell into but naturally when such things happen the whole system tends to be affected psychologically.

“So there was a lot of psychological effect on the team. I think it was evident in the way they performed. So we have been really trying hard to work on the team psychologically to put all that happened behind us and focus on the journey.

“So far the mood has been good. The boys have been pushing as they used to do before and hopefully this will get us into this important tie very prepared. I am confident that the team will come together again for that cause and get a result on Sunday,” said Ndiraya.

For the sake of the derby, Ndiraya expects a big response from his team after going three games without winning a game in their last assignments.

“For us, I think this is the biggest game of the season. Back then, before Covid-19 hit, despite the form of the two teams, it has always been an exciting fixture on our football calendar. “So we have told them, particularly those new players, of the history associated with this fixture. It was not just the foreigners but other new players in our team, we have quite a number of them who have come from other teams.

“We have tried to explain the importance of the fixture and what it brings to the club. They fully understand that but telling them is one thing and then experiencing the environment and the actual game is another.

“So we hope that they will be up for it and we are preparing them enough to face the challenge. These are the sort of fixtures which make or break a player. Hopefully they have also been preparing themselves psychologically for the challenge.

“It’s an important fixture for us as a team and the new players can’t really wait to feel the experience of the fixture. So we are hoping that we can work hard during that match and get a good result,” said Ndiraya.

Dynamos forward King Nadolo also made some bold declarations.

“A lot is going through our minds as players because this is a derby, the Harare Derby,” said Nadolo.

“We have to play for many things — the three points, to get back to winning ways and also the bragging rights.

“It won’t be much of a difference from the previous derbies. They might be struggling at the moment but it’s a derby. I am sure they will rise to the party. So we are just expecting a tough game, as usual.

“We lost the rhythm a bit but we have to win so that we get our confidence back,” said Nadolo. Makepekepe coach Lloyd Chitembwe sounded bullish, despite the recent lean spell.

“It’s important to focus on the game. These games are decided by two mental elements. If you go and play without courage and you play without the right kind of personality, I am sure you will obviously struggle,” said Chitembwe.

“Those two elements are very key. When I am talking of courage, I am simply talking of the players taking the initiative to want to do things. It takes bravery if you really want to play. It takes a lot of courage.

“When I am talking of personality, I am simply talking about the application to certain mental attitudes. These games need attitude, these games need very cool heads, composure and the players to have the right kind of patience.

“They require players to have the right kind of commitment on how they apply the technical and tactical strategies. I just hope we will have plenty of these, come Sunday and they will give us the edge.

“I think there are a lot of good things I have observed in these players. We have gone through a hell of a phase. You can’t really blame anyone within the football club but we tend to exaggerate some of these things but it’s normal.

“When your mind is not there, it’s very difficult to apply yourself in football. If you are not there spiritually, it will be difficult to make it. People don’t have to blame these boys. In any case you give the responsibilities to the coach.

“As the coach, I know my responsibility is to do with performance and results. Deep down I know why we are not winning but going to this game the boys are buzzing and the guys are good to go,’’ Chitembwe said.

Although it is easy to write Makepekepe off the championship race, a win against DeMbare on Sunday could be the beginning of a new phase. They are 14 points behind their rivals and will reduce that gap to 10 if they win on Sunday with 17 more matches to be played.

Chitembwe’s men, however, have experienced poor returns this first half of the season. They trail their opponents by a massive 14 points on the log standings ahead this last game of the half. CAPS United are currently 12th with 17 points while Dynamos are second with 31 points.

Fixtures

Today: Herentals v ZPC Kariba (NSS), Bulawayo City v Black Rhinos (Barbourfields), Cranborne Bullets v FC Platinum (Sakubva)

Tomorrow: CAPS Utd v Dynamos (NSS), Highlanders v Harare City (Barbourfields), Manica Diamonds v Tenax (Sakubva), Triangle v Chicken Inn (Gibbo), Whawha v Ngezi Platinum Stars (Ascot)