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Lloyd Chitembwe

Makomborero Mutimukulu in SFAX, Tunisia
LLOYD CHITEMBWE looked his players straight in the eye soon after a workout at the Stade Taieb Mhiri yesterday and concluded his team was ready to explode in their Champions League battle in this coastal city tonight.

The CAPS United Class of 2017, a history-making outfit, had just completed their first training session on these shores and huddled near the centre circle, awaiting the final word from the gaf- fer.

They did get the address they anticipated but not before Chitembwe had looked each one of them in the eye and challenged every player to show how much they want it when the Zimbabwean champions face Al Ahli Tripoli here tonight.

The match gets underway at 11pm (Zimbabwean time) and is live on SuperSport.

“All I wanted to do was to see how hungry they are and from what I saw these guys are ready to die for their country, their club and their reputation,” said Chitembwe.

He believes the Libyans were lucky to face an injury-ravaged Makepekepe and come out of Harare, come out of fortress National Sports Stadium, with a 4-2 win in the reverse fixture.

“We were missing our best players and four of the guys had to get some injections just to play through the pain.

“Hardy (Zvirekwi) put his body on the line, Fire (Tafadzwa Rusike) took the risk and aggravated his injury and I believe if we hadn’t played him in that game he would have been here for this one.

“It was a bad day for us, they won and there is nothing we can do about it. However, this one is a new game and I have asked the boys to prove to the world what I know about them.

“These players are not here by accident, they earned the right to be here and I believe they will show in this game that they deserve to be playing at this level,” he said.

The smacking they received at the hands of Al Ahli Tripoli has seen some sections, not only in Zimbabwe, questioning the pedigree of the first CAPS United outfit to play in the group stages of Africa’s premier inter-club com- petition.

At Cairo International Airport on Monday, as they waited to connect to Tunisia, Makepekepe were told by some Zamalek fans that last year’s Champions League finalists will come to Harare and hit them for eight or more.

“If you cannot beat Al Ahli Tripoli how can you stand Zamalek? You are in trouble,” said a guy who believes The White Knights are the best team in Africa.

The Makepekepe lads were not too chaffed by the trash talk but after being humiliated at home by the Libyans it can be argued that it was a fair comment. The Zimbabwean champions were beyond abysmal on June 2 but, thankfully, the fact that they need to wash our football flag is not lost to Makepekepe.

“It’s not about us, it’s about Zimbabwe,” said forward Abbas Amidu.

“We are the country’s football ambassadors and have to show that Zimbabwe is a serious football nation. Everyone is ready for this game.”

Also not lost to the Makepekepe lads is the fact that their countrymen will have to stay up late to watch how they will handle business tonight.

When the match kicks off it will be 10 pm here, 3 am in Astana, midnight in Athens, 9pm in Accra and show time for skipper Hardlife Zvirekwi and his boys.

“It’s a new game and they will know what the Green Machine is all about at the sound of the final whistle. Everyone is saying Al Ahli Tripoli are the favourites because of what happened in Harare.

“That suits us perfectly, we are the underdogs and have nothing to lose,” said Zvirekwi.

By late yesterday the leading betting houses had a Makepekepe win paying $5 for every dollar while a triumph for the hosts paid out 67 cents.

The Libyans, who are playing in Tunisia due to security concerns in their home country, are drunk on confidence after bossing their way at the National Sports Stadium.

The narrative on their website paints a team that believe CAPS United are there for the taking.

Their Tunisian defender Sameh Derbali said Al Ahli Tripoli can afford to dream about completing a double.

“We showed what we are worth when we played them away and are confident that we can beat them again as we play at our adopted home,” said Derbali, who scored the first goal , from the spot, in the first leg.