Veronica Gwaze — When Ngezi Platinum Stars' Nelson Chadya guided his side to a 2-1 victory over Herentals in a Castle Lager Premiership soccer match at Rufaro at the weekend, he was not aware of the special fan who sat in the terraces admiring his skills.
Interestingly, this was also the day that Castle Lager Premiership finalist exorcised last season's demon, which saw the reigning champions failing to overpower the "Students" back to back.
Herentals won 2-1 in the first leg before dramatically coming back from a 2-0 half-time trail to secure a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture at Baobab.
With Chadya blamed for conceding soft goals in both encounters, many assumed that he would be benched when the platinum miners faced Herentals again.
However, Ngezi head coach Takesure Chiragwi gave the goalie another chance to confront the ghost from last season.
Simultaneously, he unknowingly afforded Chadya's super fan, Esnath Chirambamuriwo, a moment to savour.
Chirambamuriwo is the reigning women's champions side, Platinum Queens, goalkeeper.
Just like Chadya, whom she idolises as her inspiration, the 18-year-old has earned the moniker "Maoko" for her goalkeeping skills.
"He inspires me and I take every opportunity that I get to watch and learn from him," she said.
"I had to travel to Harare to watch the game against Herentals, he put up a fine show and I loved his game."
A chat with Chirambamuriwo sadly revealed that Ngezi is an escape from her troubles.
After sitting for her Ordinary Levels last year, she is yet to collect her results as the school had to withhold them owing to school fees arrears.
With her salary, she now has to clear the outstanding monies.
"I grew up in a difficult background, where my divorced and unemployed mother was the breadwinner," she said.
"When they separated, she left me and my three siblings under the care of our paternal grandmother in rural Masvingo.However, life under the aged granny was tough, forcing her two brothers to drop out of school when they were in Grade Seven and Form Two respectively.
The duo became vagrants in Masvingo, where they became drug and substance abusers. The abject poverty also restricted Chirambamuriwo's younger sister from enrolling in Early Childhood Development (ECD).
"I then decided to play football to keep myself busy because the situation at home was bad," she recalls.
"Later our mother moved to Ngezi, where she became self-employed and took me and my younger sister in.
"My younger sister had to start school, currently she is 15 and doing her Form One."
In Ngezi, she kept alive her football dream, joining the Wanganui Secondary School team where she became a vital cog in a short time after being converted from a defender to a goalkeeper.
However, her love for the game was to be tested.
Her mother found it difficult to pay school fees, resulting in them ballooning, keeping Chirambamuriwo in and out of school.
"I would miss training and games and it affected me . . . just after sitting for my Ordinary Levels, I stopped playing football.
"However, when I started attending Ngezi Platinum Stars home games, I fell in love with Chadya's play.
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"I would picture myself doing what he does between the sticks, at home I would even emulate some of his skills."
When the goal minder then came across Ngezi's call for women's football trials at the start of the year, she did not think twice.
Chirambamuriwo felt that it was a chance to revive her love for the game and to also put it into practice what she copied from Chadya.
The Northern Region Women's League debutants sit at position two on the log table with 18 points, three behind apex-placed Black Rhinos juniors after seven games. Chirambamuriwo boasts four clean sheets.
"We are eyeing promotion next season . . . it was tough initially but we have improved," she said.
From her earnings, Chirambamuriwo also has to pay school fees for her sister and provide for the family.
"I also wish to take my brothers to rehabilitation and have them live a clean life," she said.
