Online Reporter
Robson Sharuko
H-Metro Editor
IT wasn’t from a dead ball – like David Shoko’s screamer against Zamalek in 2008 or like Mphumelelo Dzowa’s thunderbolt against Dynamos in 1996.
It wasn’t struck at the goal which stands on the City End, like what Shoko and Dzowa did when they scripted their golden moments which have become a big part of domestic football’s folklore.
It wasn’t just about raw power.
This was about control, this was about precision and this was about instinct.
Cometh the hour, cometh the superman.
Denver Mukamba, the most popular Dynamos player since the turn of the millennium, was the superhero at Rufaro on Sunday as his goal powered the Glamour Boys to their biggest win this season.
In the biggest game in the championship race this season, in terms of the size of the crowd and the significance of the match at both ends of the marathon, it was Denver who grabbed all the headlines and went home with the biggest bonus given to a DeMbare player this year.
Shadreck Nyahwa was awesome, fighting like a true warrior, spicing his performance with a goal and showing raw emotion when the battle had been won.
Emmanuel Jalai led like a true captain.
But, in the end, the hero had to be Denver.
It had to be him, he is one of those destined to excel on such occasions and with just one sweet swing of his left foot, and crisp connection, Denver wrote the defining chapter of a fascinating story.
In the final ten minutes of a thriller which was tied at 2-2, Denver scored a beauty, volleying the ball home, first time, and sending the DeMbare fans into delirium.
Most footballers, who are mainly right footed, would have taken a touch to try and bring the ball under control and then use their more powerful foot for the shot.
But, Denver is not like most footballers.
He is a maverick.
He feels he is a football genius, and acts that way, and in his wildness there is an element of greatness.
His instinct told him that he had to just strike the ball towards goal, which he did, the contact was good, there was power behind the shot and there was accuracy.
Rufaro held its breath.
The flight path of the ball was clear, its destination right in the top corner and Kelvin Shangiwa, who until now had not lost a match since he was named the Scottland’s first-choice ‘keeper, was a helpless barrier as the ball flew home.
The roar which greeted this goal would have been measured on the Richter Scale.
It probably produced a tremor around the old stadium and as Denver wheeled away to celebrate wildly, it became clear that this was a golden moment not only for him but for his beloved Glamour Boys.
It was a throwback to that David Shoko golden moment.
Like Denver, Shoko was introduced as a substitute when Dynamos were looking for a hero to help them beat Zamalek and qualify for the 2008 Champions League semi-finals.
There were only two minutes left when a free-kick presented DeMbare with the chance they had been looking for throughout a tough contest.
Zamalek goalkeeper Abdelwahad al-Sayed had denied them with a string of fine saves.
However, like Shangiwa on Saturday, he was powerless to stop a screamer from Shoko which gave DeMbare a 1-0 win and a ticket into the semi-finals.
Rufaro might now be a bumpy old stadium but it is also a gallery for some of the finest moments in our football.
It’s where, in 1996, Dzowa’s late free-kick to force a 1-1 draw against Dynamos effectively handed CAPS United their first league title after Independence.
It is also where Denver, in a moment of genius, scored the special goal which might effectively save Dynamos from relegation.
Sharuko, kunonzi kujuma in our township lingo kwakaita na Denver. A “let me try” chance that worked. Any player can do it on any day. Ask people who watch football. Such exquisite shots are seen almost every weekend all over the country. The only difference is the player who produces the shot, under what circumstances and who writes about it. A similar terrific shot was seen at Ngoni stadium by one MWOS player recently but because it was at Ngoni stadium not Rufaro, in dusty and sleepy dormitory town of Norton not in Mbare Harare, the team playing was MWOS not DeMbare and the player was one Banda and not the maverick wayward football player Denver Mukamba and Sharuko, a self proclaimed god of Zimbabwe football and former Herald Sports Editor wasn’t the reporter, that exquisite moment for this MWOS player faded into insignificance. This is how media kills our football talent. Biased and favouritism when reporting football news has always been the fly in the milk.