CAPS United booked their place in the Munhumutapa Challenge Cup quarter-finals after defeating Manica Diamonds 2-0 at Rufaro Stadium on Sunday, with head coach Takesure Chiragwi insisting that his players must embrace the demands of a congested football calendar.

Davison Marowa broke the deadlock in the 25th minute before substitute Junior Bunjira doubled CAPS United’s advantage in the 70th minute to put the Green Machine firmly in control.

Bunjira appeared to have scored again late in the match, but his effort was ruled out for offside as CAPS United held on to secure a comfortable victory.

The result completed a difficult day for Manica Diamonds, who travelled from Mutare to Harare on the morning of the match.

Their coach, Herbert Maruwa, acknowledged that the demanding travel schedule may have affected his players, although he refused to use it as an excuse for the defeat.

“Sometimes it’s not okay. My job is to coach football. Some of the things are administrative issues. I can’t comment on that, but normally the guys need time to rest and maybe to concentrate for the game,” Maruwa said.

However, the Manica Diamonds coach stressed that his team still had to take responsibility for the result.

“But it’s not an excuse to say we won’t travel today. It’s part of the game. We tried our best. You saw it. The guys did their own,” he said.

For Chiragwi, fixture congestion is a challenge that every Premier Soccer League side must learn to manage rather than complain about.

He pointed out that CAPS United are facing the same demands as other top-flight teams and must focus on recovery and preparation between matches.

“Yeah, all of us, we are in the same league, we are playing the same competition, so the load and the energy that we’re losing is the same,” Chiragwi said after the match.

The CAPS United coach believes effective recovery will be crucial as his side continues its campaign on multiple fronts.

“What is important is we just need to make sure that you take every game as it comes and try to make sure how we are going to manage the load in terms of the recovery for the players,” he said.

Chiragwi rejected the idea that the heavy schedule should be treated as an excuse, arguing that competing in the Premier Soccer League comes with significant physical demands.

“But we can’t cry foul to say the games are too much. We really need to play because we’re in the Premier League, so the demands and the challenges, we have to face them and make sure we do the proper recovery in terms of the players to recover very well, to give us the energy for the next game that we’re playing.”

CAPS United’s victory was one of three matches that completed the Munhumutapa Challenge Cup quarter-final line-up on Sunday.

In Bulawayo, Hardrock FC produced the biggest result of the day with a 5-1 demolition of Jordan FC at Luveve Stadium.

Gerald Takwara opened the scoring in the 21st minute before Washington Navaya struck two minutes later to give Hardrock a commanding lead.

Neliswa Dlamini, Thubelihle Mavuso and Wilfred Madzungu added further goals after the break to seal a comprehensive victory.

At Gibbo Stadium, Blanket Mine secured the final quarter-final place after edging Triangle United 4-3 on penalties.

The match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes before Blanket Mine held their nerve in the shootout.

Blanket Mine are the only non-top-flight club remaining in the competition, with CAPS United, Scottland, Herentals, Bulawayo Chiefs, FC Hunters, FC Platinum and Hardrock FC completing the last-eight line-up.