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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO giants Highlanders dropped two crucial points against Chicken Inn at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday following an optional time error by the usually reliable shotstopper Munyaradzi Diya. With Bosso cruising to a 1-0 win over their city neighbours, an in-swinger by Passmore Bernard saw Diya moving off his goal line in a bid to clear the ball to safety. Upon getting to the ball, he headed it once and tried to kick it away but somehow slipped. The ball then fell graciously to second half substitute George Majika who did the obvious, chipping the ball over to an empty net. The rest is history.
When the referee blew for the final whistle, a majority of Highlanders fans bayed for Diya’s blood as they accused the goalkeeper of working against the club, some calling him all sorts of names.
“Ubevele esiya nga?” (Where was he going), bellowed a fan with the support of those around him.
Diya was clearly distraught after the match with the entire technical bench led by Kelvin Kaindu trying to console him, with his understudy, Ariel Sibanda also joining in.
He was weeping uncontrollably and two hours after the match when Chronicle Sport tried to talk to him, he was still sobbing, with assistant coach Mark Mathe saying: “The guy is really in bad shape, please understand. He feels he has let the entire institution down but these things happen in football,”
Some clearly angry Bosso supporters accused Diya of deliberately gifting the GameCocks with the equaliser and called for his immediate relegation to the bench.
How quick the Highlanders fans forgets!
They seem to forget to ask the question, where was the defence when Diya charged forward? Basic defensive skills tell you that when the goalkeeper moves off his line, someone must cover his goal line. Did that happen yesterday? Certainly not.
Was it not the same Diya who single-handedly took Bosso to the final of the 2013 Mbada Diamonds Cup last year?
Was it not the same Diya who had the entire Barbourfields Stadium singing his name just a few weeks ago with those two well taken spot kicks?
Was it not the same Diya who was the first to declare that he remains Highlanders even though his contract had expired in December?
Why persecute him now when he made an unforced error in an effort to avert danger and bring joy to the Highlanders family?
It’s probably high time the Highlanders family accepted that their players are not super human but ordinary members of the human race who can make mistakes, some even disastrous.
Diya has been so committed to the cause of Highlanders that he does not deserve to be called by these names which some Highlanders supporters called him yesterday.
Bongani Ndlovu