Dynamos midfielder Emmanuel Ziocha is a man who has always drawn mixed sentiments among the fans but on Saturday he went the extra mile to prove his quality and worth in the Harare giants ranks.
The stage was Rufaro and the occasion was a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League city derby clash against Dynamos' bogey side Herentals from which Lloyd Chigowe's men emerged 2-1 winners.
This means that Chigowe remains unbeaten in the Premiership since being elevated into interim head coach following Genesis Mangombe's departure.
And Ziocha, who replaced the injured Valentine Kadonzvo in the 35th minute, significantly impacted the game's dynamics in the second half.
He delivered two assists with some fine skill to set up Donald Mudadi, who grabbed a brace in quick succession that drew some animated celebration from Chigowe and his assistant Joel Luphahla on the technical bench.
Ziocha and Mudadi are not new to each other as they played together and established a formidable partnership at Harare City before coming to Dynamos last season.
However, that partnership has not emerged at Dynamos, 18 months on.
But there has been some spark that could reignite into a dangerous combination if the performance by the duo on Saturday is anything to go by.
Chigowe is credited with allowing Ziocha to come out of his shell and realise his potential.
Dynamos had been absent from domestic league duties because of their participation in the CAF Confederation Cup where they bowed out at the hands of Orapa United of Botswana at the second-round preliminary round stage.
Despite their brief flirtation with the Confederation Cup, Ziocha believes they picked some invaluable experience.
"Coming from the Confederation Cup where we faced more competitive football and opposition than here in the local game, we are more determined and courageous as players than before," Zioacha said.
"Even the way that I came into the match showed something. I wanted the team to win and it was a great performance.
"It has been a long time since I made a major contribution to the team regarding creating and scoring goals," he said.
Ziocha thinks he has settled at Dynamos and is looking forward to continuing to make an impact at the club.
Dynamos and Ziocha have very little time to enthuse over the victory over Herentals as they must focus on their delayed Chibuku Super Cup quarter-final match against Yadah at Rufaro tomorrow.
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They will be back to league action with an even bigger Harare derby clash against old foes CAPS United at the same venue on Sunday.
Ziocha revealed that there is telepathy between Mudadi and him which he hopes will inspire them to victory in the two tough assignments they face.
"Mudadi knows how to run into pockets and we have been doing this since our time at Harare City.
"The combination is where it was built and the understanding makes things look easy.
"But now at Dynamos I think I am settling at the club, there is a lot of pressure to win games continuously and it takes a lot of hard work and commitment to achieve that.
"Now in every match we play, we would want to walk out victorious starting with our fixture against Yadah, we have to win the game as we seek to defend our Chibuku Super Cup.
"It will be interesting if we can take part in the Confederation Cup tournament again (next year). We have gained much-needed experience as players and to adapt to the difficulties of playing away from home."
Chigowe believes Ziocha is a player comfortable with the ball and will likely turn out for the national team on one of the days.
"The young man has always shown great potential and is very comfortable on the ball.
"He is one of those guys who if he settles down would eventually play for the national team at any given time," Chigowe said.
