Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
WHEN Chronicle Sport sent Anthony Nakamba a message at around 8am yesterday, he did not respond, prompting us to call him about an hour later.
His phone rang without being answered and just when we were about to hang up in disappointment, the former Hwange goalkeeper finally answered.
When told that we sent him a message an hour earlier, he apologised profusely and said he hadn’t yet checked his phone.
“I am sorry about that, I was dead asleep, having slept just a few hours ago because we were celebrating. I am still on cloud nine and so happy for my son,” said Anthony, the father to Aston Villa and Warriors defensive midfielder Marvelous.
The older Nakamba was celebrating Aston Villa’s dramatic relegation survival in the last day of the season following a one-all draw with West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Marvellous was an 82nd minute substitute, with the two teams still deadlocked at 0-0. Two minutes after his introduction, Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish put them ahead and seemed to have cemented their stay with the big boys in the top tier English league.
However, their lead was short-lived, as West Ham levelled matters moments later through a deflected goal by Andriy Yarmolenko, resulting in a nervy finale for Nakamba’s side.
Even after the referee blew the the whistle for full time, Nakamba and his teammates were still unsure of their fate and they joined together in a huddle on the pitch, awaiting results elsewhere that had a bearing in their destiny.
As score lines of other matches filtered in and they learnt that Watford had lost to Arsenal, guaranteeing their survival in the Premiership, the players celebrated joyously.
“The atmosphere in the house was tense and one could touch it. It was even more emotional when once in a while the cameras would switch to players on the substitutes’ bench, who included my son. I could only imagine what was going through his mind. At least we were better because we were aware of other results elsewhere that had a bearing on Aston Villa’s fate. We, however, were not happy with the Bournemouth and Everton scoreline because it meant a goal by West Ham would have seen Villa being relegated if they didn’t level matters,” said Anthony.
Bournemouth stunned Everton 3-1 and would have survived had Aston Villa lost to West Ham.
“After the final whistle, we knew it was done and everyone was over the moon. We waited for Marve to call because we knew he was also eager to talk to us just like we were. After a while, he called. He was just delirious, he spoke to everyone before me and him engaged in a very long father to son talk,” said Anthony.
Asked if at any given time he ever thought his son would be playing in the championship next season, Anthony confessed that following four back-to-back defeats just before matches were suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown, he had those fears.
“I must confess that at one time those thoughts were with us. Even when I spoke to my son, I could sense a feeling of dejection, which told me that perhaps he too was having those fears, but what struck me was that he assured me that they will fight like lions to stay up. A ray of hope started coming to me with that draw against Everton and when they beat Arsenal, I knew that Aston Villa will not be relegated. But I am so happy and I know every Zimbabwean out there is happy too,” said Anthony.
Marvelous made 33 appearances for Aston Villa this season, during which he made 65 tackles.
He joined Aston Villa on August 1, 2019, from Belgian side Club Brugge.
Online Reporter