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Robson Sharuko: Senior Sports Editor
CAPS United have powered to their best start in the Castle Lager Premiership adventure in 12 years — with Charles Mhlauri’s immortals of 2004 the only side with a better record — fuelling optimism among their fans that the Class of 2016 could end the club’s lengthy search for league championship glory.

The Green Machine’s impressive 2-1 away win over defending champions Chicken Inn at Luveve on Wednesday ensured that Lloyd Chitembwe’s men enjoy a better run, after the first eight games of the season, than even the CAPS United side that last won the league championship in 2005.

Mhlauri’s men won all their first eight league games in 2004, in a perfect start to their season, grabbing all the 24 points on offer on their way to immortality as they set a benchmark for success at the Green Machine, flexing their muscles in an impressive show of their pedigree.

That CAPS United side only lost one game all season, a 3-4 defeat to Highlanders in a seven-goal thriller at the National Sports Stadium, with that Green Machine unbeaten in their 15 matches away from home, winning 12 of those matches and drawing three others against Bosso, Lancashire Steel and Motor Action.

Those CAPS United immortals won 13 of their first 15 league games, with only Highlanders, in a 3-3 thriller at Barbourfields that ended prematurely after crowd trouble erupted following Leonard Tsipa’s last-gasp equaliser from the penalty spot, and Kwekwe Cables, the only teams to hold that Green Machine in that first half of the season.

Chitembwe and his men are unlikely to scale such heights but they have a right to dream big, especially now that they have started their campaign in such an impressive fashion where only the immortals of 2004 have done better, and it’s remarkable that Tsipa — who played a key role in that landmark triumph 12 years ago — is still in the trenches and making a difference.

Back then Tsipa scored a goal in the 2-1 Harare Derby victory over Dynamos, a hat-trick in the 4-1 away win over Amazulu, twice in the 3-3 draw at Barbourfields, once in the reverse fixture at the giants stadium, once in the 5-0 massacre of Masvingo United, the winner in the 1-0 victory over Njube Sundowns and a hat-trick in the 5-1 away victory over Kwekwe Cables.

On Wednesday, a dozen years down the line, Tsipa scored the winning goal as CAPS United powered to their victory over Chicken Inn.

From being a teammate of Tsipa, during those glory days of 2004 and 2005 when the Green Machine won back-to-back league titles, Chitembwe has transformed himself in a coach who appears to be getting better with age.

He has lost only two games in the 16 league matches that he has taken charge of CAPS United, in his latest romance with the country’s third biggest football club, and hidden under all those impressive statistics has been his impressive reading of the game which has come to the fore and appear to have been ignored by his critics.

His superb reading of the game has seen his team find their range, in the second half, which football analysts say belongs to the coach, with his CAPS United side displaying supremacy in the final 45 minutes of their battles.

After starting his latest spell with a goalless draw against Buffaloes at home, when he had just coached a team — terribly short on confidence — for just two days last year, Chitembwe took his men to the Colliery for their next assignment and they emerged victorious after beating Hwange 1-0. Again, in that game, his good reading of the match was evident as his men struck in the second half with Dominic Chungwa’s 57th minute introduction for Valentine Musarurwa the turning point of that battle with the substitute scoring the goal that made all the difference 13 minutes after his arrival on the battlefield. The next match was against Highlanders at the giant stadium and, again, CAPS United flourished in the second half, scoring twice in that period through Tsipa and Chungwa as they won 3-1.

In their final five league games, Chitembwe was only outwitted once — in the second half — by the grandmaster himself, Sunday Chidzambwa, with ZPC Kariba the only side to beat the Green Machine in the second half when they rallied, in the Kariba heat, to score twice and win 2-1.

This season, with his men having understood his philosophy, CAPS United have been impressive after the break and only a schoolboy blunder by goalkeeper Joram Muchambo, with just two minutes of regulation time left, providing Ngezi Platinum with a share of the spoils after substitute Simba Nhivi had thrust the Green Machine into a second half lead.

The next match, against Harare City, Chitembwe’s introduction of Tafadzwa Rusike in the second half turned the game on its head and the substitute duly delivered the assist for Chungwa to fire home the winner in a 2-1 victory.

“What we thought about Tafadzwa was obviously needed to give the forward thrust hence the decision to take off Kudzi who I thought he had a brilliant game,” said Chitembwe after that match.

“We only had to change tactics with the belief that if we are to have someone who can give us leverage of going forward, we would get the maximum points and we did that.”

After CAPS United played second fiddle in the Harare Derby, Chitembwe introduced Archford Gutu and Nhivi in the second half and that changed the game with Gutu playing a very big role in the move that finally forced the goal that made all the difference.

“When we introduced Archford Gutu, he brought in a different dimension and Simba Nhivi also brought another dimension,” Chitembwe said.

The following game was against Border Strikers, who frustrated CAPS United in the first half, but Chitembwe threw in Tsipa at the break and the veteran forward soon struck the goal that won them the match.

The Green Machine struggled in the first half against How Mine, going down 0-2, but they dominated the second period with Abbas Amidu scoring in that half after Nhivi had missed a glorious chance.

In their next match, against ZPC Kariba, CAPS United found themselves 0-2 down at the break, but they dominated the second half and forced a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw with a strong show as they dominated the last 45 minutes.

And, on Wednesday, the winning goal also came in the second half.

CAPS UNITED RECORD AFTER EIGHT MATCHES SINCE 2004

P W D L F A PTS

2004 (C) 8 8 0 0 15 4 24 2005 (C) 8 5 1 2 14 7 16 2006 8 3 3 2 12 7 11

2007 8 3 4 1 10 8 13

2008 8 1 2 5 6 10 5

2009 8 2 5 1 10 8 11

2010 8 3 3 2 11 9 12

2011 8 4 2 2 18 12 14

2012 8 3 2 2 6 7 11

2013 8 4 0 4 12 10 12

2014 8 2 3 8 11 11 9

2015 8 3 3 6 6 12 12

2016 8 5 2 1 13 7 17