CAPS ready for epic fight . . . Glamour Boys demand US $10 000 from sponsors By Eddie Chikamh CAPS United declared they were ready to fight for their lives on a day when Dynamos threatened to plunge the NetOne OneWallet Cup into a crisis over a dispute with the sponsors from two years ago. The Green Machine have been walking with a spring in their step after a five-match unbeaten run and, crucially, managing to hold the Glamour Boys to a draw in a league match at the National Sports Stadium last Sunday. Gerald Phiri scored a beauty of a free-kick to give Makepekepe a fair share of the spoils, which their industry deserved on a day when they refused to be intimidated by their rivals. Makepekepe midfielder Tendai Samanja yesterday said they were ready to fight for their lives. “It’s going to be tricky because we just played each other last week and it ended in a draw. Each game is a new game though and we all expect something positive,” said Samanja. “Last week we missed many scoring chances but we have been working on our mistakes. “I think we have worked on everything that we needed to work on during the week and what is now left is to apply ourselves. “We aim to fight all the way because there has to be a winner at the end of the day, unlike last Sunday.” Skipper Tapiwa Kumbuyani led from the front and rallied his troops to take the fight to their rivals. Dynamos players yesterday threatened to boycott the match tomorrow unless they get the remaining US$10 000 from their prize money they won in the Charity Shield that was sponsored by the company two year ago. The leadership at the Harare giants yesterday said they were battling to get their players focused for the assignment and have written to both NetOne and the Premier Soccer League. DeMbare and NetOne do not share a fine relationship after the sponsors held back their US$50 000 prize money for winning the NetOne Charity Shield in 2012 following a row over the branding of the playing shirts. However, the dispute was ironed out and the money later released to the Glamour Boys. Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa yesterday told The Herald that the purse was US$10 000 short and the players were now protesting to push for the recovery of the full amount before taking to the field. “We are faced with a big dilemma here because the players have made it clear to us that they cannot play in a new tournament when they haven’t received all their money from the previous one. “Their argument is that, they are not sure what guarantees are there that they will get all their money this time around if they win the One Wallet Cup. “So we have written to both the Premier Soccer League and NetOne advising them of the situation and we are hoping for positive responses. “The last time we heard from the sponsors was that they had undertaken to pay us all our dues but we didn’t get all the money. So whether the money is at PSL or at NetOne, we don’t know,” said Mubaiwa. The Glamour Boys chairman said they were fully prepared for the game but will need PSL and NetOne to deal with the sticky situation they are faced with. DeMbare are set to engage their big football rivals for the second time inside one week with another clash looming next to complete the back-to-back league fixtures. There were strong indications the Glamour Boys could unleash their new signing, Fabrice Mbimba, for the first time in the domestic competitions tomorrow as they were expected to finalise his registration process by last night. Mbimba joined the Harare giants last month but the midfielder’s appearance had been delayed by challenges encountered during the mid-season transfer period. The DeMbare management, nevertheless, were yesterday optimistic they will get the former Zanaco player’s documents in order after missing the first two weeks of the window. Dynamos are hoping to prop up their fight with the addition of the Congolese player in the quest for both league and cup competitions. So far they have only managed to register Rodreck Mutuma, who returned from South Africa following an unhappy stint at Bloemfontein Celtic. “The manager is running around with the papers and we are expecting him to finalise the registration of the player by end of day (yesterday). “If it goes well, then Mbimba might be available for selection on Sunday (tomorrow). Of course he is a good player,” said one of the officials. However, there are no major changes expected from both Dynamos and Caps United following last week’s 1-1 stalemate in a league game at the same venue. DeMbare centreback, Partson Jaure, who spent the week in South Africa, is back in the capital and expected to be thrown into battle tomorrow. Highlanders will kick-start their campaign in a tricky assignment with How Mine at Ascot this afternoon. The tournament is being sponsored to the tune of US$500 000 and US$270 000 will go towards prize money. The winners of the One Wallet Cup will walk away with US$80 000, with the runners-up set to pocket US$50 000. The losing semi-finalists would each get US$30 000 while the losing quarter finalists will receive US$20 000. Fixtures Today: Highlanders v How Mine (Ascot, 1pm) Tomorrow: Dynamos v CAPS United (National Sports Stadium).
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 06:38:47 +0000
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