‘It’s a great feeling’ – Chitembwe

CAPS United coach, Lloyd Chitembwe, has said that it feels good to record the first home win in the first home match of the Castle Lager Premier League played at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday.

10 men CAPS United recorded a 2-1 derby win against City rivals Harare City, collecting first three points of the season after drawing against

“Great feeling; great feeling. I’m sure it’s good to continue with the good work but obviously the challenge is still huge. We still have 15 to 20 games to play. So that’s the challenge, to want to continue playing at home. But it’s never going to be easy.

“Yah, we are happy. We got the result that we wanted, that’s my assessment,” Chitembwe told journalists after the match.

The two teams went into the break with a nil all score-line as neither team looked set to break the deadlock. The turning point for CAPS United was the double substitution at half time which saw Tafadzwa Rusike come on for Ronald Chitiyo and Joel Ngodzo for the captain, Moses Muchenje.

“I think with ‘Moze’ [Moses Muchenje] and Ronald [Chitiyo]; they didn’t give us the mobility that we wanted in the midfield, so we thought [that] maybe ‘Fire’ [Tafadzwa Rusike] was going to give us that kind of mobility and Josta [Joel Ngodzo] was obviously going to give us the right kind of balance in terms of distribution of the ball and just making sure we retain possession of the ball,” he said.

The defending champions were then reduced to 10 men after substitute Ngodzo saw red for a reckless challenge on Harare City midfielder, James Jamu, in the the 73rd minute.

Harare City equalised barely 10 minutes after the red card through substitute, Terry Chipangura, as CAPS United briefly appeared to battle to contain pressure with one man out.

Chitembwe said it was a mark of greatness that the team managed to grab a vital home win under the circumstances.

“Great character within the group and that’s the mark of greatness in this team. You know, you are one man less but you still go on to get the result that you desired. I think it’s a sign of greatness within the group.

“Well, I think it would be very very unprofessional to comment on the decisions that a certain man [referee] does make; just like I make certain decisions. So I don’t thinkit would be very professional for me to comment on the expulsion of Josta [Ngodzo],” he said.

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