Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Robson Sharuko
7 October 2008
Harare — IF Dynamos crash out of the Champions League, they will look back at that defeat at Rufaro - Reuben Mhlanga's fatal mistake and the three golden chances not converted by Benjamin Marere, Murape Murape and Phillip Marufu.
The Glamour Boys will probably wonder the difference that Justice Majabvi would have made to a midfield that failed to click as Thomas Sweswe struggled in a makeshift role in the heart of their machine.
Or the difference that the presence, between the posts, that regular goalkeeper Willard Manyatera would have made if he had not been mistakenly ruled out of Sunday's big match by a classic administrative blunder.
The Confederation of African Football clarified on Saturday that Manyatera was not booked in Cote d'Ivoire and he was eligible to play for Dynamos against Cotonsport at Rufaro on Sunday.
Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya wrote to Caf last week to clarify Manyatera's status after the continental football body had not included the goalkeeper's name among the players who were ineligible for Sunday's game.
On Saturday she received the response that Manyatera was eligible to play the following day because the referee had clarified that he booked Brighton Tuwaya rather than the goalkeeper in Abidjan.
But by then Manyatera was already at home in Chiredzi after having been given official leave by his coaches who believed that the goalkeeper was ineligible for Sunday's tie because of two yellow cards.
While you can't fault his replacement Zondai Nyaungwa's overall performance, it's also a fact that he did not give the defence the confidence that Manyatera gives them.
The Dynamos establishment, just like the correspondents covering the game in Abidjan, believed that Manyatera had been booked for time wasting and when he was booked again at Rufaro against Zamalek, he was out of the tie against Cotonsport.
So the DeMbare coaches gave their goalkeeper leave to attend to his family business last week and by the time they were advised that the official records showed that Tuwaya, and not Manyatera, was booked in Abidjan, the player was far away to be included in Sunday's match.
Now given his star status at the club, very few people will probably sit down to reflect on the impact that Edward Sadomba's decline as a trusted goal-scoring merchant, in the past two months, has had on this team.
And the difference it will probably have on them ending their campaign in the semi-finals rather than as African champions with US$1 million in their account and tickets to the Fifa World Club Championship in Japan.
As DeMbare forced good results in the group stages and played well as a compact unit, very few chose to notice that their chief striker had lost his radar.
After all Lazarus Muhoni would pop up with a goal in Cairo against Al Ahly and, after all, Marufu would deliver a brace in the victory over ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan.
But amid all this drama, the man with the golden boot lost his goal-scoring touch.
And, as Dynamos prepare for their biggest challenge in Garoua, Sadomba's goals, or the lack of them, could be the difference between success and a painful defeat in the semi-finals.
Of course, Sadomba remains one of the best marksmen in the Champions League this season.
His five goals make him the third deadliest striker in the competition with Stephen Worgu of Enyimba leading the race for the Golden Boot with 12 and Daouda Kamilou of Cotonsport in second place with six goals.
But all this hides the fact that Sadomba has not scored in the Champions League since the opening game of the mini-league phase on July 20 this year.
On that afternoon, a grieving Sadomba, with his sister lying lifelessly at home and waiting for burial the following day, scored twice in the 2-1 win over ASEC Mimosas.
His second goal was a beauty - the art of finding places to hide inside the opponents' penalty area and the technique of finishing with such coolness, despite the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
But six games later, Sadomba has yet to score for Dynamos.
Given that his winning goal against ASEC Mimosas came in the 73rd minute, statistics will show you that Sadomba has not scored in the Champions League for 557 minutes now.
The same statistics will show you that it's now close to 10 hours of football in the Champions League since the day that Sadomba last scored for Dynamos.
It's now 76 days since the DeMbare family celebrated a goal from their chief striker in the Champions League.
Admittedly, it's not easy to get goals at a regular level, especially when the competition gets tougher and you get to such levels like the semi-finals, but Sadomba knows he could have done better.
He has had some fine chances, none better than the one that presented itself in the first minutes of the away tie against Al Ahly in Cairo, which he fluffed.
Then there was that good chance against Zamalek when, after running at their defence, he found himself face-to-face with the goalkeeper coming in from the left but could not apply the finishing touch.
He was also presented with a clear run at goal in the early part of that game after a fine pass from Marere but he shot wide from a very good position.
On Sunday, he did not get the kind of chances that fell to Marere, Murape and Marufu and you can't fault him for any bad miss really.
Once again, he was a bundle of energy but it's the goals that Dynamos are looking for from their chief striker.
Jomo Sono might have come to Rufaro hoping to have a better look at Sadomba on Sunday.
He might have been impressed with his energy, the pace, the sudden change of direction, the dribbling skills and the ability to switch positions and confuse the defence.
But when you are a man playing in that role leading the line of attack, it's the goals that matter and Sono, who refused to comment after the game, must have left a doubting Thomas.
The DeMbare fans and their coaches believe in their man and, a return of his goal-scoring touch, could probably be the difference in Cameroon.
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