Mthulisi Maphosa apologises for missing a penalty

by Sports Reporter

2012 July 25 08:32:38 | 2748 Views

HIGHLANDERS midfield general Mthulisi Maphosa, who missed a 71st minute penalty that could have given his side a momentous and confidence boosting win over old nemesis Dynamos at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday, has apologised to the fans, his colleagues and technical bench for the casually taken kick.

The two teams were tied at 1-1 with the visitors having taken a stunning second minute lead through Orlando Pirates-bound Takesure Chinyama who let loose a pile driver from inside the 12-yard box that hit the roof of the nets giving Bosso goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda no chance.

Bosso, who controlled the better part of the match, got the equaliser through Milton Ncube's dipping header over a drawn out George Chigova. So it goes without saying that the penalty, awarded by outstanding Victoria Falls referee, Hardly Ndazi, who made a mockery of experienced referees, would have given Highlanders all the three points and Maphosa is very much aware of that.

The lanky Maphosa says he feels he let down the boys but also gave credit to Dynamos goalkeeper Chigova for the maturity and intelligence that he exhibited in saving that kick.

"I really feel I let the boys and everyone in the Highlanders family down by the miss. I never imagined that boy saving my spotkick, especially for such a match and I am really sorry. I must though give credit to Chigova because he tricked me with the way he positioned himself. If you realised against Harare City my kick went to my left and so when I saw him leaving a wider space on that side I thought that was his strongest side so he wanted to trick me into directing the ball to that side," said Maphosa.

The talented Maphosa, who with the ever-improving Peter â€œRioâ€ Moyo tore the Dynamos midfield into shreds, said he then thought of hitting a hard and low short to the right where Chigova had left little space, that is when disaster struck, the tall former Young Warriors goalkeeper went full stretch to block the ball.

If the save stunned the Bosso supporters who were part of the 26 000 plus fans, including Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu, who paid their way to witness the Battle of Zimbabwe Part One, then Maphosa was shocked beyond belief as he stood rooted to the spot and could not even finish off the rebound.

Highlanders coach, Kelvin Kaindu, himself a former player, knows the agony of missing a penalty kick but insists Maphosa is and will remain his penalty taker.

"Maphosa is the best penalty taker that we have. He was the right player to take the penalty but unfortunately we could not convert, it happens in football," Kaindu told our Harare Bureau.

Despite the miss, Highlanders extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches and could really have capped it with a sensational win over Dynamos, themselves showing the fighting spirit that made them champions last season.

Mthulisi maphosa Penalty

Source: TC