Highlanders fans turn on keeper Diya
Sikhumbuzo Moyo in BULAWAYO
Chicken Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(0) 1
Highlanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1) 1
HIGHLANDERS dropped two crucial points against Chicken Inn at Barbourfields yesterday following a mistake in time added on by the usually reliable ’keeper Munyaradzi Diya.
With Bosso cruising to a 1-0 win over their city neighbours after a first half goal by Ozias Zibande, an in-swinger by Passmore Bernard saw Diya moving off his goal line in a bid to clear the ball to safety.
He headed it once and tried to kick the ball away, but somehow slipped.
The ball then fell graciously to second half substitute George Majika who did the obvious, pushing it into an empty net.
When the referee blew the final whistle, the majority of the Bosso fans bayed for Diya’s blood as they accused the goalkeeper of working against the interests of the club, some calling him all sorts of names.
“Ubevele esiya nga”(Where was he going), bellowed a fan with the support of those around him.
Diya was clearly distraught after the match with the entire technical bench, led by Kelvin Kaindu, trying to console him, while his substitute Ariel Sibanda also joined in.
He was weeping uncontrollably and two hours after the match when Chronicle Sport tried to talk to him, he was still sobbing with assistant coach Mark Mathe saying: “The guy is really in bad shape, please understand. He feels he has let the entire institution down but these things happen in football,”
Some Bosso supporters accused Diya of deliberately gifting the Gamecocks with the equaliser and called for his immediate relegation to the bench. How quick the Highlanders family forgets. They seem to forget to ask where the defence was when Diya charged forward.
Basic defensive skills tell one that when the goalkeeper moves off his line, someone must cover his goal-line.
Did that happen yesterday?
Certainly not.
Was it not the same Diya who single-handedly took Bosso to the final of the 2013 Mbada Diamonds Cup last year?
Was it not the same Diya who had the entire Barbourfields singing his name just a few weeks ago with those two well-taken spot kicks?
Was it not the same Diya who was the first to declare that he remains Highlanders even though his contract had expired?
Why persecute him now when he made an unforced error in an effort to avert danger and bring joy to the Highlanders family?
It’s probably high time the Highlanders family accepted that their players are not superhuman but mere mortals who can make mistakes, some even disastrous.
Diya has been so committed to the cause of Highlanders that he does not deserve to be called by these names which some Bosso fans called him yesterday. The Chronicle
