TOUGH: Masomere taking break from football • H'landers face PSL rap over abandoned match • Dynamos draw African giants • Malajila hat-trick buries Masvingo • Khoza leveller keeps Kiglon in touch with leaders • Chunga exhausts Length of patience • CAPS United fans turn on Masomere • Highlanders bomb in Sudan • Marere stunner marks Dynamos' greatest win • Kiglon surrender lead to Chapungu • Highlanders close in on unbeaten Kiglon • Mapeza turns tables on Chunga as Monos win • CBZ unveils $4,5 trillion league sponsorship deal • 2008 Premier Soccer League Fixtures

By Nkanyiso Moyo

EVEN before CAPS United’s sorry performance at Underhill on Saturday, Luke Masomere cast a figure of a dead man walking.

A week before the Mucheke debacle, CAPS United fans barricaded the embattled coach inside the Gwanzura Stadium dressing room after watching their team collapse against debutants, Gunners.

On that day, skipper David Kutyauripo walked out on the team – furious at his substitution.

Masomere – whose team has been plagued by injuries to key players since the start of the season – must have thought he had seen the worst.

But a 3-1 drubbing in Mucheke by an Underhill side finding its feet in the top division was enough even for a survivor like Masomere to throw in the towel.

"I have stepped down as CAPS United coach with immediate effect. The executive and the fans want results from me, but they are not coming, so I feel it is good for me to step down,” Masomere said in his post-match interview.

“From now on, I am taking a break from football and wish the incoming coach the best of luck.”

Very few coaches in Zimbabwe have won the league title – and Masomere is in that small minority, having won it with AmaZulu.

Very few coaches can claim his experience as a coach. At Masvingo United, he helped them to the ZIFA Unity Cup and the Independence Trophy. He has also been in charge at Dynamos and enjoyed a stint at Botswana club, Gaberone United.

But without results going for them, even the finest coaches can find themselves out of a job. And so it was for Masomere, whose United side have only won twice in nine games.

Already defeated five times, United trail leaders Chapungu by 10 points and bar a miracle, are now out of contention for the league title which they won in 2004 and 2005 during the glorious reign of Charles Mhlauri.

Masomere became the third premiership coach to lose his job this year following Moses Chunga’s sacking by Lengthens last week and Patson Ndabambi’s departure from bottom-table Shooting Stars whom he helped to win the Independence Trophy final.

Masomere must have started preparing his resignation statement as early as the 15th minute on Saturday when Marizeni Mucheni breached United’s offside trap and rattled the ball in past an advancing Tsungi Mudzamiri.

But on 57 minutes, United were level through Blessing Mazorodze after a spirited fightback. Masomere must have thought he could live to fight another day.

But a late double by substitute Kuda Musharu left the coach in no doubt the game was up.

He said Monday: “The players were injured and I could not have a regular starting line up because of that.

“Then there was the issue of indiscipline. We replaced Method Mwanjali as captain with David Kutyauripo, then Energy Murambadoro and now Tsungi Mudzamiri.

“Players would come late for training as they were being used by some individuals who wanted me to fail and I had to make the decisions I took, but the results were not coming, so for the betterment of the club I decided to quit.”

Former Dynamos coach Keegan Mumba, who is back in his native Zambia, is now touted as Masomere’s replacement.

But as one CAPS United fan said, even a coach from the moon will do little to help United.

CBZ Premier Soccer League Results:
Sunday:
Masvingo United 1-0 Lancashire Steel; Monomotapa 1-0 CAPS FC; Njube Sundowns 3-1 Lengthens; Shooting Stars 0-2 Dynamos

Saturday:
Gunners 2-1 Highlanders (match abandoned); Kiglon 0-0 Eastern Lions; Motor Action 1-0 Chapungu; Underhill 3-1 CAPS United

CBZ Premier Soccer League Table (26 May 2008)

TEAM		Played	Won	Drew	Lost	G/F	G/A	Points
1	Chapungu	9	5	3	1	16	4	18
2	Kiglon	9	4	3	2	11	7	16
3	Motor Action	9	5	1	3	11	8	16
4	Dynamos	7	3	4	0	9	3	13
5	Underhill	9	4	1	4	15	17	13
6*	Highlanders	6	3	3	0	11	2	12
7	Njube Sundowns	8	4	0	4	14	14	12
8	Monomotapa	8	4	0	4	11	13	12
9*	Gunners	8	3	2	3	10	11	11
10	Lengthens	8	3	2	3	9	11	11
11	Masvingo United	9	3	2	4	7	13	11
12	CAPS FC	9	2	4	3	10	11	10
13	CAPS United	9	2	2	5	8	12	8
14	Eastern Lions	8	1	4	3	3	5	7
15	Lancashire Steel	9	2	1	6	9	14	7
16	Shooting Stars	9	2	1	6	6	14	7

* Log does NOT include the Gunners v Highlanders match which awaits PSL disciplinary ruling

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