adminRicky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
BRILLIANT goalkeepers make a difference in the championship race and ZPC Kariba FC’s gloves men – Tendai “Fish” Hove and Tonderai Mateyaunga have proved vital cogs during their campaign.Hove’s exploits have not gone unnoticed and is a frontrunner for the Goalkeeper of the Year accolade as he has gone for 13 games without conceding.
Injury kept the reliable electricity men’s goalie on the sidelines for their last weekend’s must win encounter against Dynamos which they won 2-1 with sub-goalkeeper Mateyaunga pulling a number of top-drawer saves.
After his match winning saves against DeMbare, Mateyaunga spoke highly of his trainer Tembo Chuma who joined the Kariba side at the beginning of the season after Highlanders had not renewed his contract.
“Coach Chokri (Chuma) always tells us that it’s not a goal unless the ball is behind you which encourages us to make an effort to try to make saves. He has made us believe in ourselves and we’ve grown as goalkeepers because of his training,” said Mateyaunga.
The question that many local football followers could be asking now after seeing Chuma’s magic touch illuminate ZPC Kariba FC who are on the verge of winning a maiden Premiership is, did Bosso make a right choice by letting him go?
Because of goalkeepers’ performance throughout the season, ZPC Kariba are almost guaranteed ending Dynamos’ three-year dominance and are attributing their success to Chuma’s contribution.
“I think he’s somebody who knows his job and has been underrated for some time. He’s shown that he’s capable of churning out the best goalkeepers. If you check his history, he did a sterling job at Highlanders during his two years there, producing goalkeepers who went on to make it into the Soccer Star of the year calendar for two consecutive seasons. Here at ZPC Kariba he has done a tremendous job that has seen Tendai “Fish” Hove going for 13 games without conceding which is marvelous,” said ZPC Kariba’s team manager Patson Ndabambi.
In 2012 Highlanders had Ariel Sibanda making it into the calendar and last season it was Munyaradzi Diya’s turn to be among the country’s best.
Without doubt, Hove has excelled at ZPC Kariba and he is favourite for the top goalkeepers’ gong as well as a place on the calendar.
The three goalkeepers have worked under Chuma and felt his magic.
“The other positive thing about Tembo is his ability to strike a good relationship with his goalkeepers. They enjoy their sessions which make them even enjoy their game and eventually their contribution to the squad has been awesome because a good goalkeeper makes a difference and Fish (Hove) has been a vital cog during our campaign. Even his assistant Tonderai Mateyaunga who has lots of Premiership experience has been good between the posts providing cover in Hove’s absence,” Ndabambi said.
He praised Zifa for rewarding Chuma with a coaching job with the Young Warriors.
“Personally I think those that have appointed him to a position in the national Under-23 have duly rewarded him for his brilliant work after seeing that whatever he touches turns to gold,” said Ndabambi.
Online Reporter