Caps in last-gasp win over Bosso

By Henry Mhara | Sep. 15, 2024

Bosso were well worthy of their fist half lead courtesy of a brace by Lynoth Chikuhwa who guided home an Andrew Mbeba cross from close range on 21 minutes before converting from the penalty spot 10 minutes later after he had been brought down by Hastings Chapusha inside the box.

Caps United . . . .. . . . . (1) 3

Highlanders . . . . . . . . (2) 2

CAPS United came from two goals down to beat Highlanders in a five- goal thriller at Rufaro Stadium.

Bosso were well worthy of their first half lead courtesy of a brace by Lynoth Chikuhwa who guided home an Andrew Mbeba cross from close range on 21 minutes before converting from the penalty spot 10 minutes later after he had been brought down by Hastings Chapusha inside the box.

The second goal was Chikuhwa's 10th of the season as he closed the gap in the race for the Golden Boot award.

William Manondo started United's comeback when he converted from the spot in the 43rd minute after Marvelous Chigumira had been adjudged to have handled inside the box in a bid to clear his lines.

The goal, his 11th of the season, moved Manondo one goal clear in the Golden Boot race.

Caps United failed to build on the momentum at the start of the second half as they were pushed back by the visitors who fluffed a number of chances to kill off the match as a contest.

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Bosso were made to pay heavily for the missed opportunities as Junior Bunjira ghosted from the blind side to head in a cross from Phineas Bhamusi on 84th minute for the equaliser.

The youngster was denied by Highlanders goalkeeper Muza moments later before Bosso skipper Peter Muduhwa cleared off the line a Bhamusi shot at the end of 90 minutes as Caps United finished strongly.

When it looked like the match would end in a draw, substitute Lot Chiwunga scored a dramatic 94th winner, firing into the roof of the net after Muduhwa had failed to deal with a long ball from midfield.

The goal send the Caps United faithfuls into a frenzy, with the players hoisting their coach Lloyd Chitembwe in the air in celebration at the final whistle.

Chitembwe saluted his players for their show of character.

"We are happy with the result. We were so desperate for it," Chitembwe said. "It's good because it brings so much to the team."

He saluted the impact of his substitutes.

"We were chasing the game and it's always difficult to chase a game against a team like Highlanders. Realising that they were leading and sitting back, we needed to obviously change the whole dimension of the game. We brought in Ralph Kawondera who is mobile and he gave us that mobility. We also took out Rodwell (Chinyengetere) and slightly changed Kingsley's position so that he gave us the mobility we needed. Transitioning from mid to attack was a bit slower when Rod was in there so Kingsley gave us what we needed."

Highlanders coach Kelvin Kaindu was a disappointed man, blaming the chastened defeat to lack of concentration by his team.

"This is one of the most painful losses that we have encountered. We started well and managed to score two goals. We thought we were in the driving seat, but the game changed. We lost focus in terms of the way we defended at the end of the first half when Caps United were given that penalty. We lost a bit of concentration because everybody thought the ball had hit the player on the face, but we should be able to defend our lead. Caps United came back stronger and we had anticipated that they would use their wide areas and that is what they did. The unfortunate part is that all the goals that Caps United scored, we could have defended better. We made our own mistakes with the way we defended."

Kaindu also bemoaned the missed chances. Chikuhwa had a chance to seal the contest on 86th minute, but hit the side netting from a good position.

"We had so many chances. In terms of play, we had so many chances than Caps United. They used the few chances that they had and managed to score."

Caps victory stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to six games as their rejuvenation continues unabated.

The Green Machine moved to seventh position with 37 points, one behind Highlanders who are on fifth.

Teams

Caps United: A Reyners, H Chapusha, E Manokore, B Kangwa, G Murwira, K Mureremba, P Bamusi, J Bunjira, J Bakari (E Mbollo, 46'), R Chinyengetere (R Kawondera, 65'), W Manondo (L Chiwunga, 70').

Highlanders: R Muza, M Chigumira (M Khoza, 88'), A Mbeba, N Ndlovu (G Nyathi, 90+2'), P Muduhwa, G Makaruse, M Mushore, B Ncube (N Rauzhi, 67'), M Mushore, M Ncube, L Chikuhwa