HARARE - There is no separating Dynamos and CAPS United it seems.
The two Harare giants were drawn together in the first round of the new One Wallet Cup yesterday.
Barely a week after the two clashed in the first instalment of the Harare derby last weekend at the National Sports Stadium, the two teams will be back at the same venue to settle unfinished business.
The dust is yet to settle from that first meeting at the weekend, drawn one all, and now on Sunday the two teams have to battle it again in the knockout competition sponsored by cellular services provider NetOne.
To top it off, when the league programme resumes two weeks from now, it will be another Harare derby on the cards as DeMbare is set to host Makepekepe in the reverse fixture.
In the other first round tie, there will also be a Bulawayo derby between Highlanders and How Mine, who were also drawn to play against each other on Saturday at Ascot Stadium in Gweru.
The One Wallet Cup commences on Friday with a double header at Mandava Stadium where Harare City takes on Triangle in an early kick-off at 1pm.
Immediately after that match, FC Platinum take on Chicken Inn in the second match of the day to start at 3pm at the same venue.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is hoping that all four first round matches will be screened live on SuperSport.
After yesterday’s draw, all the attention of the first round was consumed by the pairing of rivals Dynamos and CAPS United.
Makepekepe board member, Lewis Uriri, who represented the club at yesterday’s draw, was confident the Green Machine will win the tie to book their place in the semi-finals.
“This is something that we longed for and something that we wanted to happen. At the end of the three derbies we will know who is at the top of Zimbabwean football,” Uriri said.
“We have always been prepared to play football and especially when it comes to playing against Dynamos. There is absolutely no doubt who is going to get the $80 000 (for winning the tournament) and there is absolutely no doubt that we will be in the next draw for the semi-finals.
“We are going to win. We are going to win. We are going to win. We are going to win. We are going to win. We are going to win. We are going to win.
“I’ve said that seven times because that number stands for completion and perfection. That shows you how confident we are that we are going to beat them.”
Dynamos chairman Kenny Mubaiwa was also confident that the Glamour Boys will continue their dominance over the Green Machine.
CAPS last won a competitive match against DeMbare in 2009 and since then the Glamour Boys have ruthlessly dominated the derby.
“I’m happy with the draw because we are going to be playing against CAPS United. Our hope is that we will knock them out of the tournament in the first round,” Mubaiwa said.
“We are prepared for this derby because in any match Dynamos play, the opposition would want to beat us. It doesn’t matter who we are playing.
“At the weekend, we lost a lot of chances otherwise we could have beaten CAPS United by six goals in the first half alone.
“I hope this time we will utilise our chances to beat them and reach the semi-finals of this competition.”
NetOne have poured $400 000 in this competition that they will bankroll for the next three years.
Winners of this year’s edition of the One Wallet Cup will pocket $80 000 while the losing finalists will get $60 000.
The teams that will be knocked out in the semi-finals each get $30 000 while those that bow out in the first round receive $20 000.
Football fans will have a chance to pay for their entry fees to watch the cup matches using the NetOne One Wallet mobile money transfer platform.
One Wallet Cup draw
Tomorrow: Harare City v Triangle (1pm), FC Platinum v Chicken Inn (3pm, both at Mandava).
Saturday: Highlanders v How Mine (3pm, Ascot).
Sunday: Dynamos v CAPS United (3pm, NSS).