Chitembwe thrilled with Caps’ progress, despite draw

Sport
He was thrilled by the progress his "super" team has made so far, and feels there is a lot that people should expect from it going forward.

CAPS UNITED . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

HWANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0

CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe had no complaints about his side’s performance despite their failure to collect all three points against Hwange in a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match at the National Sports Stadium yesterday.

Josiah Daka and second half substitute Adrian Silla hit the posts during a late onslaught as Caps United toiled to find a way past the visitors’ defence, but Chitembwe lauded the overall performance of his side.

He was thrilled by the progress his "super" team has made so far, and feels there is a lot that people should expect from it going forward.

"It was a very good performance, I don't want to take anything away from the team," Chitembwe said in his post-match interview. "The performance was outstanding and I'm extremely happy with it."

Asked if his side needed to be more clinical in front of goal to make their dominance pay, Chitembwe sprung to the defence of his strikers.

"We did create opportunities and I'm happy with it. I have always said to score it takes a whole team effort, and to defend it also takes the whole team effort, so if you don't score it's obviously about the whole team, not entirely (blame) certain players. I'm happy with the progression that we have made as a team and there are very good things to come out of this team. This is a super, super team."

Caps United controlled most of the possession and territory against a Hwange side which was clearly happy to sit back and frustrate their elite opponents.

The Green Machine had a handful of chances with William Manondo missing two good headed chances in both halves, while his striking partner Rodwell Chinyengetere fluffed three good chances, including a sitter on 70th minute.

The former Hwange forward failed to tap home a delightful cross from Ian Nyoni with the keeper already beaten.

With Ngezi Platinum Stars coasting to a derby victory against FC Platinum yesterday and Highlanders also picking a point against Simba Bhora, Caps United dropped to third position on the log with 16 points.

Hwange created a number of opportunities, but were unable to make them count.

A number of goal-line clearances and some spirited defending late in the match saw them earn a share of the spoils.

Hwange coach Nation Dube said keeping a clean sheet against a side that scored seven goals in eight matches was no mean feat, and he lauded his boys for a job well done.

"A draw against Caps United is good, and I'm happy with the performance of the team," Dube said.

"We had a game plan and it worked well. We told ourselves if we don't score, let them not score and we go back with a point. Remember we were coming from two defeats, so we said we can’t have another defeat. We said to ourselves let's get something out of this match and take it from there."

The result leaves Hwange on eleventh position with 11 points from their opening nine round of matches.

Teams:

Caps United: T Mateyaunga, H Chapusha, K Madzongwe, J Daka, J Tulani, J Ngodzo, P Bamusi, I Nyoni, R Chinyengetere, W Manondo (A Silla, 67')

Hwange: N Madeya, E Zulu, K Shiyandindi, B Mlotshwa, L Sibanda, T Goredema, S Gadzikwa, J Chivasa (C Sibanda, 33'), S Sithole, B Makopa E Nkhulungo, 80'), K Nasama

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