Posted in News on Nov 28, 2007.
It did come as a surprise to many watching the game on Saturday to see that Tinashe had been omitted from the game. Up to Saturday’s game he had played in all twelve outings that Chiefs had been involved in so far this season in league and cup competition.
Sitting on two yellow cards entering the Pirates game a decision was taken that he would not travel with the team to Durban, so that he could be available for Saturday’s Telkom Knockout Cup final against Sundowns.
Being on the sidelines was not easy for Tinashe who would have preferred to have been battling it out on the pitch at the ABSA Stadium against the Buccaneers instead of sitting at home, he did how ever make the sacrifice and is now aiming to get the necessary reward by helping Chiefs lift the Telkom Knock Out Cup on Saturday.
No holding back
Given the role that Tinashe plays and the nature of matches between Chiefs and Pirates, the chances were very high that he could have picked up a booking against Pirates, and it was not a risk he wanted to take. As he explained “I gave it a lot of thought prior to the game and it bugged me that I could miss the final, so when I was given an option I felt that being cautious and not missing the Cup Final would be the better road to travel down and I did exactly that”.
Cup Final Reward
Missing the Pirates game now means that Tinashe has had extra time to prepare for the Cup Final, he is going to use the fact that he is well rested to good effect for Saturday’s game. He went on to say, “I am fortunate in that these extra days of rest will count in my favor, I have had the opportunity to start thinking about the Cup Final way before every one else. That means I have no excuse but to put on a great showing on Saturday, my batteries have been recharged and there can be no holding back when we meet Sundowns”.
Esrom encounter
On either end of the pitch on Saturday each coach Gordon Igesund of Sundowns and the Amakhosi’s Muhsin Ertugral will be looking towards a Zimbabwean midfielder holding sway for his team in the centre of the park.
For Sundowns the key man will be Tinashe’s Zimbabwean international team mate Esrom Nyandoro.
It will be up to Tinashe to make sure that he is not given much room to create havoc. Tinashe intends to do just that during Saturday’s final as he said “Esrom is the heart beat of Sundowns creative pulses and having him in check will go along way towards helping our course. He is an excellent player and a tough competitor, I look forward to playing against him because he brings the best out in me”
