CAPS UNITED . . . . . . . . . . (1)1
TELONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(0)0
CAPS United coach Lloyd Chitembwe is confident that the future of the club is in safe hands after watching three teenagers impress in the win over TelOne at Rufaro Stadium yesterday.
Chitembwe, often criticised for relying on aged players, introduced three teenagers — Aseed Asan, Simba Gunda and Thulani Nyamupfeka — for their debuts in the second half of the match.
Jayden Bakari headed in a 12th minute goal, connecting a Rodwell Chinyengetere corner for the only goal of the match.
It was his second goal in as many matches after he also scored in the 2-1 loss to league champions Simba Bhora on Saturday.
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TelOne had a Cris Mverechena penalty in injury time saved by goalkeeper Tonderai Mateyaunga.
But this game will largely be remembered for the three teenagers who were introduced by Chitembwe.
First to get the taste of Premiership football was Asan, who replaced William Manondo just after an hour, while Gunda and Nyamapfeka came later in the half for Phineas Bamusi and Chinyengetere.
Ironically, Bamusi and Chinyengetere are the old guards in the Caps United squad.
Asan got a baptism of fire when he got to an end of a Xolani Ndlovu crude tackle a minute after coming on.
Fortunately, no real damage was done to him as he dusted himself up and continued with the game.
He showed some good composure on the ball, with his every touch greeted by wild roars from the terraces.
Speaking after the match, Chitembwe, who also gave Junior Bunjira his debut this season, said the youngsters are the future of the club and he will continue to gradually introduce them into the team.
“Everything is done during the most important moments of the game. This was the moment when we needed to also give an evaluation of what the boys can do in a pressurised environment. I’m happy with their application,” he said.
Bunjira has been one the club’s revelation this season, while another youngster, Kingsley Mureremba, has been one of the standout performers for the Green Machine this term.
TelOne coach Hebert Maruwa applauded Chitembwe for believing in the youngsters.
“Congratulations to Caps United on introducing the youngsters. That’s the way to go,” Maruwa said.
Turning on to the match itself, Chitembwe said: “In most cases, we were dominant in and out of possession. What we lacked was intensity.
“We didn’t play with the speed we wanted. And also the decision-making in certain key moments of the game was poor. But overall, it was a decent performance from the boys.”
Maruwa, whose side hit the cross bar in the first half, was not happy with the overall performance of his men, who recorded a second straight defeat after they also lost by the same score line to Herentals at the weekend.
“We didn’t come to the party. We failed to play our normal game,” he said.
TelOne are 11th on the log standings with 38 points, just three away from Bikita Minerals, who occupy the relegation cut-off point.
There are two rounds of matches before the season concludes.