Shambolic start for Harare minions

CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe was left to rue missed opportunities in his team's defeat to Chicken Inn, as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season got off to a disappointing start for all the teams in Harare at the weekend.

Makepekepe, who were forced to host the Gamecocks in Gweru due to the unavailability of an approved stadium in Harare.

They lost the match 1-0.

Fellow giants Dynamos were away to traditional foes Highlanders where they went down 1-2 at Barbourfields while Khama Billiat's Yadah were also humbled 0-1 in Hwange.

The only other Premiership team from Harare this season, Herentals, were inactive as they are yet to know their opponents for this opening fixture because of the delays in resolving the contentious promotion saga in the ZIFA Eastern Region.

There were no celebrations in Harare from last week after the ZIFA First Instance Body could not homologate Rufaro for football to return to the capital once again.

CAPS United had hoped for at least a partial homologation of the venue in time for their opening fixture but due to the inadequacies in the fundamentals, the ground could not be considered.

The Green Machine had no choice but to travel 278km to Gweru to play their home game.

Their opponents travelled 165km from Bulawayo to the venue.

Defender Itai Mabhunu scored the only goal of the match late in the first half and Lloyd Chitembwe's men could not find a response despite having dominated the match from the start.

The defeat was a huge dent although Chitembwe believes his team can still build from the positives demonstrated in that match, especially their attacking prowess.

Chicken Inn goalkeeper Donovan Bernard was the difference between his team winning and losing that match, with a string of fine saves that kept the Gamecocks in the game.

"I think what is encouraging is the ability to create opportunities, and this is the most difficult thing in football. So, we take pleasure in that," said Chitembwe.

"As for conversion, maybe it was only a matter of us not being so lucky. Maybe on a good day, we could probably have converted those chances into goals.

"But it's still a work in progress. Overall, it's the performance that matters the most, as far as I am concerned, especially at this stage of the season."

Makepekepe will play Herentals in their next game, which could take place at Bata again if Rufaro does not get positive news this week.

Fellow giants Dynamos may also be forced to look for an alternative venue this week as they are set to play host to Hwange.

DeMbare is still smarting from the defeat to Bosso.

They conceded twice on either side of the half-time break, with Melikhaya Ncube scoring a beauty before Archford Faira doubled the lead. Newboy Alexander Mandinyenya secured the consolation.

DeMbare coach Genesis Mangombe blamed his defence but the coach must also shoulder part of the blame for tinkering too much with his team for such a big game.

Dynamos had five debutants, who were playing the Battle of Zimbabwe for the first time in the starting line-up on Sunday, while the likes of Keith Madera, Elton Chikona, and Emmanuel Paga, key members of his team last season, warmed the bench.

"It's a game of football. We failed to maintain our lines and we conceded such silly goals. We still have a problem when we fail to defend such kind of goals. We just gave them away, but in football you make mistakes, and you have to correct them and move forward.

"We are now looking forward to our next game. This one is now water under the bridge and it's a learning curve. We are trying to introduce new players. The good thing we are not playing badly, save for those silly goals," said Mangombe.