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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
DYNAMOS goalkeeper Taimon Mvula arrived from Hwange as a virtual nobody having failed to save that club from the chop in 2019.
He was a surprise pick for coach Tonderai Ndiraya who had also lined up the signature of impressive Ngezi Platinum Stars goalkeeper Nelson Chadya.
Even FC Platinum’s Wallace Magalane was being linked with a move to the Glamour Boys then before he decided to move the other direction of the capital joining CAPS United.
And one would have obviously questioned the wisdom of Mvula deciding to settle for the Glamour Boys where Simba Chinani was virtually invincible between the sticks.
But such is fate. Chinani eventually fell out of favour at the club and he moved to Makepekepe leaving Mvula to prove his worth.
And he has proved he can be the right man for the job at the country’s most successful club.
He has played 23 matches for the Glamour Boys, including 14 in the Chibuku Super Cup and nine in the league.
Out of those 23 matches, Mvula has conceded just six goals and kept 17 clean sheets.
DeMbare’s revival story in the league is largely to do with Mvula’s invincibility between the posts.
He is the only player at the Dynamos backline who has played all the nine matches in the league this season with Ndiraya regularly rotating his defence.
All defenders, including captain Partson Jaure, Frank Makarati, Sylvester Appiah, Godknows Murwira, Brendon Mpofu, Munyaradzi Mawadza, Emmanuel Jalai and Tinotenda Muringayi, have been rotated constantly by Ndiraya save for Mvula.
With six clean sheets and having only conceded three goals in nine games in this race, Mvula has decided to remain grounded.
“This is a marathon. We are about just a third into the race and we need to keep maximum concentration as we go,” said Mvula.
“I attribute everything we have achieved so far to the whole team. Football is a team game and you should be able to play your role in the team if the team is to achieve its goals.
“I am very happy that as a team we have conceded just three goals but as a goalkeeper I am disappointed because I don’t want to let in any goals.
“But this is football, you score and your opponent can also score. But I want to say everything we have managed to do so far is as a result of everybody’s input including the supporters.
“As an individual, I am humbled to be having a chance to play for a big team like Dynamos. This is the greatest team in Zimbabwe and being entrusted with duties on behalf of them is something humbling.
“This is only my debut season for the Glamour Boys and I should say so far so good but we have to keep on pushing harder and pushing each other to try harder.”
The 28-year-old, who has kept goal for the Warriors once when Zimbabwe faced off against Ethiopia in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at the National Sports Stadium last November, said his main strength is in prayer.
“That (prayer) is the only thing I know in my life. I believe with God, everything is possible. I was at Hwange in 2011 but I never got a chance to play and I even contemplated leaving the game. But I kept on working hard and praying hard until my chance came.”
Mvula’s next assignment will be against army side Black Rhinos whom he has described as a tricky opponent.
The teams play at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
“Black Rhinos is a Harare team and this means it is a derby. Every derby is a tricky game. I think we should be cautious and also be offensive. We need to win games and keep these clean sheets. We are taking each game as it comes.
“We cannot talk of what has already happened, that can only shape our destiny but we should focus on the job at hand and that way we will conquer.”
Online Reporter