Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Petros Kausiyo
6 July 2009
Harare — ZIMBABWE youth international striker Knowledge Musona got his professional soccer career off to a promising start when he scored on his debut for South African Premiership giants Kaizer Chiefs in an Eastern Cape Premier Cup competition in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The four-team tournament, staged at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, also included South African Premiership champions SuperSport United and Division One outfit Bay United.
Chiefs eventually beat SuperSport United 2-1 in the final to claim the trophy. But for Musona, the tournament could be one he could relish at least for now as it helped him get his stint at Chiefs off to the kind of start he would have hoped for.
Chiefs signed the 19-year-old former Aces Youth Academy striker together with fellow Zimbabwean internationals Thomas Sweswe and Zhaimu Jambo last month. Left-back and former Gunners skipper Jambo did not feature in the tournament as he had reportedly incurred an injury at Chiefs' training camp in Pretoria.
Defensive rock Sweswe, snapped up from Dynamos, played in both the semi-final and the final while Musona only featured in Chiefs' 2-0 semi-final win over Bay United in an earlier match. The Young Warriors striker, however, appears to have done enough to make the crucial first impressions on Chiefs' new Serbian coach Vladimir Vermezovic and his assistant Donald "Ace" Khuse.
Another Chiefs newboy Nkosinathi Nhleko grabbed the other Amakhosi goal in this match while new goalkeeper Maphelo Galada also reportedly impressed in his first outing. Bay United, relegated from the top-flight last season, started the game brightly, but Chiefs gradually asserted their authority and took the lead on 15 minutes when Musona finished after Arthur Bartman could only parry Abia Nale's effort.
It was Bartman's only blunder in an otherwise excellent first half in which he almost single-handedly kept his side in the game. Bay improved after the break and were unlucky to have a penalty appeal turned away, and it turned out to be a crucial decision as Chiefs scored a second later on. Nhleko picked up the ball almost on the halfway line and ran through unchallenged before finishing past Bartman.
Although Bartman was lauded for his performance in the Bay United goal, Musona also used the occasion to showcase his eye for goal which saw him lead the Aces Youth Academy and national Under-20 scoring charts.
It might be early days, yet but the Young Warriors striker will be hoping that his scoring form will not desert him when it matters most for Amakhosi -- the championship campaign. The 2009-2010 South African Premiership marathon gets underway early next month and Chiefs are eager to reclaim the championship they have not won in four years.
That Sweswe played two full games on the same day could also be an indication of how much the former Highlanders and Mwana Africa defender's experience will be worth to the Amakhosi rearguard this season.
In winning the Eastern Cape Premier Cup, Chiefs found their goals through George Lebese and Josta Dladla, while SuperSport's goal came from the effort of Siyabonga Nkosi. Chiefs opened the scoring in the 27th minute when captain and Warriors international Tinashe Nengomasha passed to Mandla Masango who, in turn, crossed the ball to Lebese to finish off with a tap-in.
SuperSport equalised in the 74th minute when recent signing and Bafana Bafana midfielder Nkosi got his boot to the ball to score. Dladla grabbed the winner came four minutes later when he lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Denis Onyango.
Chiefs were also using the weekend tournament to warm up for their high-profile annual Vodacom competition, which will feature their old enemies Orlando Pirates and English Premeirship outfit Manchester City.
Nengomasha told Kick-off.com that he was relishing the opportunity of playing against his Warriors captain and Machester City forward Benjani Mwaruwari in the Vodacom tournament. Nengomasha said friendship would be put aside for at least 90 minutes when he comes against Mwaruwari in the Vodacom Challenge.
The Warriors midfielder said he was eager to make his mark against the visiting side in Durban on July 21. Nengomasha also said he was looking forward to changing Chiefs' fortunes against rivals Pirates, who have performed better against their Soweto neighbours in the past three seasons.
"Besides wanting to beat Pirates in the derby in Port Elizabeth, I am just as excited about putting in a good showing against Manchester City.
"My Zimbabwe national captain Benjani Mwaruwari is likely to be in the Manchester City squad. We may both be Zimbabweans, but out on the field, we both want the best for our respective clubs," said Nengomasha ahead of the clash against the former Jomo Cosmos striker.
The Chiefs hardman joined Amakhosi in 2001 and has since become a regular in the three-team tournament. "My best memory of the Vodacom Challenge was helping Kaizer Chiefs to beat TP Mazembe in my first year with the club," Nengomasha said.
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