MAVHUDZI MAKES HISTORY FOR PIRATES

Bruce Chikuni

CHEGUTU Pirates appear to be losing their lengthy battle to maintain their Castle Lager Premiership slot as they are six points away from safety with only four games to play.

But, it has not been just a fruitless campaign for Zaire. Until now, no player from Chegutu Pirates had ever received the call to represent Warriors.  That was until their exciting forward, Tinashe Mavhudzi, 22, shattered this glass ceiling as he was included in the Warriors team for the CHAN qualifier against Eswatini in Botswana on Sunday.

Mavhudzi rose through the ranks of Ngezi Platinum developmental side, where he was nurtured by Kifton Kadurira, before making his breakthrough into the senior team.

He was loaned to Chegutu Pirates earlier this campaign, without featuring for the Ngezi Platinum senior side, as the team coach, Takesure Chiragwi, feared Mavhudzi might have struggled with game time.

He was on the scoresheet when the Pirates floored his parent club 2-1 at Baobab last weekend.His performance immediately earned him a spot in the Warriors squad, which was selected by Chiragwi. “I was in shock. I was with my friends when the squad came up, I told them what I was seeing on my phone and before they even congratulated me, I was gone.  “I went where my mother was to let her know what had happened to us because it is everyone’s dream to achieve that milestone but it never occurred to me that I could experience such a feeling anytime soon.

“I owe this achievement to my team, coaches and teammates who have been pushing me to become better,” said Mavhudzi.

Mavhudzi’s national team call-up sent shockwaves in Chegutu.

His teammate and close friend, Tinotenda Ditima, celebrated this monumental achievement. Ditima was also loaned to Pirates under similar circumstances earlier this season.

Ironically, he was also on target when they humbled Ngezi Platinum.

“His dedication and resilience inspired us all. It is the best feeling to have a friend who gets a national team call-up and to me it is not something that surprised me because knowing him since we were playing together at Ngezi Developmental team, his passion and determination made me believe that it was just a matter of time.

“It is also a motivation for me because he is proof that hard pays and there is always a reward for being humble,” said Ditima.

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