Chipolopolo chip chopped

It took long to come but there had always been a belief within FC Broadhurst that beating the mighty Zambians was a possibility that only time and occasion knew when it would become reality.

16 January 2011 goes down in history as the day when professional footballers disguised as Chipolopolo, a social football outfit was beaten by a bunch of no names in the game of football.

The weather was fine: it had been raining all night and the rain had subsided, the sun was somewhere behind the grew clouds, and the pitch had drained well effectively setting the mood for a gruelling encounter.

As a show of his intent to play, Zeal wrote to fellow team mates a message on Facebook in his native Shona language "ngatiroweyi chipolopolo mumvura" lets beat Chipolopolo in the rain. And Zeal was to pull one goal back just before the half time break to make the scoreline 3-1, a bit respectful and give the trailing team the reason to play even better.

At half time the Broadhurst could have been the one leading and surely by an unimaginable scoreline had the strikers put away the chances that they got. Chipolopolo were under siege for the initial 20 minutes of the game and it was during this time that Broadhurst fluffed numerous chances of taking the lead.

When Chipolopolo finally got their chances they did not waste them. In honest truth, their goals were neither out of this world or convincing serve to say three of them were from "disputed" offside positions.

Coming from a 3-1 low at half time and close the day with a 5-4 win is testament of how much work was put into securing a win. Chipolopolo were physically fit and made their presence felt on players who had eaten loads of salads, ice cream, meat and other fats the previous day at church while they themselves when burning the calories in the gym. But Broadhurst compensated their handicap with skill and a remarkable work rate.

Nick was once again at his best, making things happen in midfield. Never has he ran like that: the desire to win was so much pronounced in every loose ball that he chased and in every tackle that he made. Thrice injured in the first half, he face seemed to say i still want to contribute something in this match when at half time Coach Bongs rested him for Tiego.

Coming in with a broken toe, Tiego carried on from where Nick had left and soon goals were coming. Leon, the new signing was a joy to watch as he combined with Tiego, Bra Hlo going forward supplying the strikers. He also dropped to add bodies in defence: he seemed not to get tired.

The victory came in the absence of team regulars, Moseh, Benjamin, Karabo, Mudau. Young Dondada was thrown into the deep just towards the close of the game and the young man got another lesson on the need to improve his fitness. But with time, the player in him will blossom and maybe relegate Moseh and Packers to the bench.