Ndiraya unveils a gem

Tadious Manyepo-Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE haven’t adopted technology in the game but there is no doubt the most dribbles of yesterday’s President’s Independence Trophy were completed by Dynamos debutant Tanaka Chidhobha. 

The Glamour Boys were deserved 2-0 winners over eternal rivals Highlanders to lay their hands on the coveted trophy at the National Sports Stadium. 

But it was the sleek 20-year-old Chidhobha who caught the eye. 

That he was the only player on the field making his senior debut in a game of this magnitude, made his contribution for Dynamos particularly impressive.

Chidhobha was signed from FC Platinum Under-19 last year where he was one of the top stars. 

He never got a chance to play for the senior team but Dynamos coach Tonderai Ndiraya, who once coached him at Prince Edward School, decided to throw him in the deep end. 

And the youngster didn’t disappoint. 

He was at the heart of virtually every attack launched by his team. 

Deployed at the left side of Ndiraya’s starting 4-2-2-1 formation with Tinashe Makanda on the other flank, Chidhobha spent the afternoon giving Highlanders right-back Chrispen Ncube all sorts of problems. 

Even at the few occasions he switched flanks with Tinashe Makanda, Chidhobha made Bongeni Ndlovu look like an ordinary left-back. 

It was Chidhobha who roasted Ncube inside-out with on the left side of the pitch to slide the ball which Highlanders vice-captain Peter Muduwa turned into his own net to give Dynamos an assurance goal in the second half. 

After the match, Prince Edward Academy players, who were the ball-boys in the match scrambled for Kodak moments with their hero. 

However, as expected of a debutante, Chidhobha had his own flaws and at one stage in mid-way through the second half, he was involved in a burst-up with Bosso defender Andrew Mbeba which earned him a yellow card. 

He would be pulled out moments later but he had done enough in his senior debut. 

“I just told myself that this is the moment that l have to show the world what stuff I am made up of,” he said. 

“With the coach and all the senior players behind me, I was sure that I was going to play some good football. 

“I had to be composed all round. I knew the moment was ideal and I had to summon everything in the tank to make sure that I play well. 

“I was at Prince Edward School in 2017 on a scholarship and I was then recruited by FC Platinum in 2018.

“This is my senior debut and to cap it by winning a trophy against a big team like Highlanders is a dream come true.”

Ndiraya said Chidhobha is a good player but has areas which he still needs to work on. 

“You can see that he has a lot of potential to become a top star,” said Ndiraya. 

“I am sure this is his first game at senior level. 

“And to have performed like what he did is something else. 

“However, he hasn’t arrived yet. We have to work hard with him so he can mature. But otherwise he is a good player.”