A dream come true

heads held high as Knowledge Musona underlined his status as the heir to the throne left by Peter Ndlovu.
Norman Mapeza’s men might have left it until too late, to grab a win their freshness thoroughly deserved, but only those stalked by a demonic spirit of negativity, will choose to ignore the magic that came out of Rufaro yesterday.
Yes, there is still a lot of work that still needs to be done, for the Warriors to find the scent that took them on the path to the success stories of the 2004 and 2006 Nations Cup, but – for 90 minutes yesterday – they were worth their nickname.
As usual, in line with the Warriors’ tradition, they made it tough on their fans – the biggest crowd to back them since the day they won the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup two years ago – and it wasn’t until the drama of the last minute that this game was settled.
When the outstanding Ovidy Karuru, clearly the man-of-the-match yesterday, burst into the Mali penalty area, with regulation time up, Zimbabwe held its breath.
In those little feet, blessed with the kind of trickery that had confused the physical Malians all afternoon, the Warriors had built their best moves and when Karuru sneaked into the box, there was reason for optimism.
The France-based midfielder, playing his best game in the colours of his fatherland, was going at a good pace, too much for the retreating defence, and the tackle – when it came – was suicidal.
And Karuru went down.
South African 2011 Referee of the Year, Daniel Bennett, pointed to the spot and after Musona’s first attempt was saved, he ordered the kick retaken as his assistant correctly ruled that the goalkeeper had moved off his line.
With Rufaro holding its breadth, and a lot of people praying inside the stadium, Musona soaked in the pressure and, with one swing of his right boot, fired low and hard into the right corner for the priceless goal.
So we erupted into celebrations and, in that moment, started to believe again.
Believing in the Warriors’ brand whose soul has been battered so much, in the past year, by a plethora of off-the-field controversy and a run of poor results.
Believing in Norman Mapeza, whose credentials to lead this team had come under scrutiny of late as the Warriors struggled to impose themselves in their group.
Believing in the leadership of Method Mwanjali again after his suitability for that role had been thrown into question by all the innuendoes surrounding Asiagate.
Believing in our national team’s ability to get goals, after a period of sterility spread over two games, which had seen them fire blanks against Cape Verde at home and Mali in Bamako.
And, crucially, believing that we might just have found the man to provide the inspiration, when all hope is lost, the way King Peter used to do in the colours of the Warriors.
Musona now has three goals in this campaign, and has scored all the goals for the Warriors, but yesterday the Kaizer Chiefs striker moved an inch closer to greatness as the Warriors’ fans finally saw his genius at play on home soil.
While Musona has made a name for himself in South Africa in the past year, his magic has been on display far away from home and, yesterday, he brought his show to the stadium that is home to domestic football.
His first goal, created from a run wide into space on the left that confused the defence, was a beauty as he clipped his effort over the ‘keeper.
His second, after the trauma of having seen his first effort blocked, showed just how much he has grown as a person in the last year that he has been in the limelight.
But this was by no means a one-man show.
Khama Billiat, playing his first game for the Warriors on home turf, brought a freshness down the left channel it was so easy to fall in love with his bag of skills.
Playing against men, twice his size, the diminutive Billiat showed the beautiful side of sport that gives men of small statures a chance to succeed as long as they are backed by genuine talent. There was always something to expect, every time he was in possession, and he never let the occasion overwhelm him as he played with both style and purpose.
With Karuru turning on arguably the best individual show in the Warriors’ colours by a player since Peter Ndlovu bonded us to this team all those years back, the Warriors had penetration down the flanks.
Their cause was also helped by the mobility of both Gilbert Mapemba, suddenly finding the form that he lost after the Cosafa Cup final against Zambia two years ago, and a committed Vusa Nyoni, who was magical down the left.
If there was a weakness in this Warriors’ team, then it was what we had expected.
Once again the central midfield was found wanting and, although the combative Tinashe Nengomasha rolled back the years with a stellar show in his defensive duties, Justice Majabvi was as quiet as a church mouse.
So, once again, the supply line to the forwards was being choked and Nyasha Mushekwi, having worked so hard with very little reward against tough defenders, had to give way to Edward Sadomba.
Some will say Mushekwi was off colour but I saw a man who fought for his cause, in a tough battle against two giants that shadowed him, and crippled by a poor supply line and, in my book, he should not have been pulled out.
Once he was gone, we lost some punch in the central areas of our attacking shape and we freed the Malians to start building from the back. The good thing, though, is that we still had the Knowledge of how to find the winner and the Method of how to go to go about it.
So, in those 90 minutes of high drama, the Warriors rediscovered their soul, revived their romance with the fans and made all of us feel proud once again.
The sights and sounds of Rufaro in full voice, as Mapeza went on a lap of honour, was a throwback to the days when the Dream Team caressed our emotions and, always, won at home.
There is still a lot of hard work for Mapeza but it’s easy working in an environment boosted by a success story than in the gloom that comes with a defeat or a demoralising draw.
What we showed yesterday is that we have a battery of players that we can bank on to give us a national team that can compete against some of the best on the continent.
The star of the show, Karuru, is still young, Musona is 20 – but brave enough to take such a pressure penalty – Billiat is just as young and Mushekwi can’t be described as old.
Soon there will be competition for the playmaker’s role because Archford Gutu will return from suspension and a host of players in the Under-23 team will knock on the door.
The future, suddenly, doesn’t look bleak.
“This win means a lot for us,” said an emotional Mapeza after the game.
“We owe it to our fans who have stuck with us through all the hard times and this could be the start of an exciting period for us.
“We are back in the running and we have to beat Liberia next and this win will give the boys and the fans confidence.”
Yes, Norman, there is hope.