FOR once the vibe matched what derbies are supposed to be like in this Castle Lager Premier Soccer League duel at the National Sports Stadium. Fans, who came in colourful hordes, added to the euphoria.

An estimated 27 000 of them; one of the biggest crowds at the giant stadium in recent years. The atmosphere was just electric!

And the teams’ performance in the field of play was befitting of a showdown of this magnitude.

It was DeMbare who bagged the points and the bragging rights at the end, with man-of-the-match Donald “Kante” Mudadi and Jayden Bakare getting the goals for the Glamour Boys in the opening half.

The result ended CAPS United’s unbeaten run this season. It took the Green Machine seven games to suffer their first loss and it had to be at the hands of bitter rivals, Dynamos.

The Green Machine ended the match with 10-man following the expulsion of left-back Innocent Zambezi for a second bookable offence just past the hour mark.

Lloyd Chitembwe’s charges, who had the upper hand in the second stanza, would probably feel they should have turned the game upside down had Zambezi not been red-carded at that crucial stage.

Makepekepe were looking to maintain pole position on the log standings with a victory over DeMbare while the latter needed the points to stay within reach of the leading pack after they had encountered frustrations in their previous three outings.

The Glamour Boys responded in a big way to the morale-sapping defeat to Bulawayo Chiefs, which was also their first this season.

With that loss, preceded by two dull draws, Herbert “Jompano” Maruwa’s team needed to get their act together.

And they did that with much conviction and against their bitter rivals. The Young DeMbare guns, provided they retained confidence on their part, were always going to beat their rivals in the field of play.

Mudadi, Tendai Matindife, Junior Makunike and the impressive Tanaka Shandirwa were especially key in midfield battles which formed the foundation of DeMbare’s victory.

They bossed their more experienced trio of Devon Chafa, Rodwell Chinyengetere and Blessing Sarupinda for the entire opening stanza. The DeMbare players were always first on the ball, always won the second ball and came out on top in most duels.

It wasn’t surprising when they surged ahead at the half hour mark after Matindife capitalised on a blunder by Sarupinda, retrieving the ball and racing towards goal before releasing Mudadi.

The latter, who was playing a more advanced midfield role with Makunike anchoring, coolly controlled the ball before firing past a badly exposed CAPS United goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga to spark wild celebrations.

Mudadi, who reminded everyone good ball players are still found in the country would return, eight minutes later with a left-footed shot, which Mateyaunga failed to handle first time allowing Bakare to head home the rebound and open his scoring account in DeMbare colours.

Makepekepe came from the break a completely transformed side, retaining possession well especially after the introduction of Clive Rupiya and Adrian Silla for the slow and ineffective Chafa and Sarupinda.

But Dynamos managed the game well, restricting Makepekepe from having deadly raids at their goal area. And in the 63rd minute, any hope of a come-back for Makepekepe was up in smoke with the dismissal of Zambezi.

But the Green Machine managed to outplay their rivals in most aspects although they couldn’t really create clear-cut chances

It was Dynamos, who should have stretched their lead right at the death but substitute Emmanuel Paga failed to connect with the goal at his mercy.

CAPS United dropped to third on the log standings with 12 points to their name while DeMbare moved up the ladder from seventh to fourth with 11 points.

They also have a game in hand.

Dynamos coach Maruwa saluted his charges.

“It was a good result like what I have been saying. When we were getting negative results, we were still playing good football.

“We have good youngsters coming up. So, basically we needed patience,” said Maruwa.

“I give credit to the midfield, maybe the youngsters including Junior (Makunike), Tanaka (Shandirwa) and Donald (Mudadi). They managed to curtail the more experienced guys.

“I think that’s where we won the game.

“I am happy we managed to keep a clean sheet. We conceded three goals in our previous game and I think that’s the last time we have conceded so many goals (this season).

“Supporters came in their numbers, that’s good for our football. They should keep on coming”. His opposite number Lloyd Chitembwe was naturally disappointed.

“It was one kind of a game that we lost in the first half. I thought we lost so many duels, one versus one. We were slow and those guys (Dynamos players) were much quicker than us,” said Chitembwe.

“That’s the reason we had to make changes at half time. I thought that’s how we lost it.

“I was quite impressed when we regrouped in the second half. We tried to change a few things a bit. Actually, it gave us some impetus going forward. Even our body language was better than it was in the first half. There are some good lessons also to take out of it.”

CAPS United dropped to third place on the log standings with 12 points while Dynamos gained three places into fourth position on 11 points. Highlanders took control following their 1-0 win over Hwange at Barbourfields yesterday, to take their points tally to 14.

Chitembwe said Makepekepe were not discouraged by the defeat yesterday, which was their first this season.

“But we knew at some point we were going to lose a match. But we will get things right going forward.

“It’s not a big blow because we are still to play a lot of games. We still have a chance. No team has won it (the league title) yet. No one is chasing for anything as of now.

“It’s important that the fans are coming to witness these games,” said Chitembwe.

Teams

CAPS United

Tonderai Mateyaunga, Godknows Murwira, Innocent Zambezi, Kelvin Madzongwe, Ben Musaka, Devon Chafa (Adrian Silla 46min), Phineas Bamusi, William Manondo, Blessing Sarupinda (Clive Rupiya 46min) , Rodwell Chinyengetere, Joseph Tulani

Dynamos

Taimon Mvula, Emmanuel Jalai, Elvis Moyo, Kevin Moyo, Frank Makarati, Tanaka Shandirwa, Junior Makunike, Donald Mudadi (Denver Mukamba 82min), Tendai Matindife (Brendon Moyo 68min), Keith Madera (Nyasha Chintuli 64min), Jayden Bakare (Emmanuel Paga 64min)

herald