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Lloyd Chitembwe

Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
AMID the celebrations that followed CAPS United’s victory over Dynamos in the Harare Derby at Rufaro on Sunday and all the plaudits that went to striker Dominic Chungwa, something significant was hidden in that festival of joy.

The Green Machine’s 1-0 win at Rufaro was probably celebrated in the City of Kings, given it prevented the Glamour Boys from taking over leadership of the championship race from Chicken Inn, and in Mhondoro where Ngezi Platinum are also in the running for the league title.

It might also have sparked celebrations in Zvishavane, where serial championship challengers FC Platinum are also in the running for the league title, and hoping they can become the first club — from out of Harare and Bulawayo — to be crowned champions in 51 years.

But while all the plaudits went to Chungwa who, for the second Harare Derby at Rufaro in as many games, scored the priceless goal that made all the difference, as he found the target in the second half on Sunday, one massive contribution seemed lost in the frenzy of the post-mortems.

Lloyd Chitembwe didn’t even wait for the post-match interviews, something he appears to do with regularity these days, with the task being left to one of his assistants, Fungai Tostao Kwashi, who spoke about their delight in beating their biggest rivals.

However, there is something that Chitembwe did that Sunday which is significant.

He became the first coach to guide CAPS United to two victories over Dynamos in the Premiership in the past 12 years.

He also became only the second coach, in the past dozen years, to inspire the Green Machine to two wins over the old enemy in league matches.

The last coach to achieve that was Charles Mhlauri, back in 2005, when CAPS United completed back-to-back league victories over the Glamour Boys with the Green Machine beating their bitter rivals 2-1 in the first match and then defeating them by a similar scoreline in the second match.

Interestingly, Chitembwe scored in that second game, back in the days when he was still a combative midfielder, with Leonard Tsipa — who is now part of his backroom staff as he helps his strikers — also on target that afternoon.

The previous year, Mhlauri’s Green Machine had completed back-to-back victories in the Harare Derby over their biggest rivals with CAPS United winning the first game 2-1 and then edging their opponents 1-0 in the second fixture.

But after 2005, the script changed and when Nyasha Mushekwi scored a double in a 2-0 victory for the Green Machine at Rufaro in 2009, not many would have expected that it would be the last Harare Derby they were going to win for seven years.

Chitembwe stopped that bleeding at Rufaro last year when he masterminded his team’s first victory in the Harare Derby, with Chungwa scoring the all-important goal, for their first win in seven years.

The second match ended in a 3-3 draw at the National Sports Stadium before DeMbare returned to the giant stadium to inflict a 2-0 win over Makepekepe this year.

However, Chitembwe inspired his men to a 1-0 win on Sunday and, in the process, he became only the second CAPS United coach to guide them to two Harare Derby victories in the past 14 seasons.

During that period, the two giants have played 28 times and Dynamos have won 10 games, drawn 10 and lost eight.

Today, Chitembwe and his men are at the Colliery for a duel against a Hwange side who have been revitalised, at home, by Bigboy Mawiwi, with the Green Machine fans hoping for another full set of points.

There are some CAPS United fans, still spoiled by their club’s success last year and their good run in the CAF Champions League this year, who believe there is still a little window of hope for them to sneak in and defend their title, even though that looks a very remote possibility.

However, as Chitembwe and his men have shown in recent weeks, in which they have beaten FC Platinum, Ngezi Platinum and Dynamos, it’s all about winning their games without worrying what others are doing right now.

Chungwa is still in the race for the Golden Boot, having responded to the task of leading the attack with aplomb, and a lot will be expected from him again this afternoon.