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Edward Sadomba

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
SPEEDY Zimbabwe international striker Edward Sadomba finally opened his goal account in the Libyan top-flight league when he grabbed a brace to inspire his club Ahly Bengazi to a comprehensive victory over WEDA at the weekend. Sadomba ended a brief spell on the football sidelines when he joined Ahly Bengazi on a seventh-month deal that will earn him US$40 000 each month.

But after making some assists in his first two games for his new club, the former Dynamos and Al Hilal forward finally found his range on Saturday night when he fired a double that helped Alhy Bengazi to a 4-1 victory.

Sadomba, who returned to the jungles of African football after a year in the United Arab Emirates, has set himself a target of helping his Libyan side to secure a place in the Caf Champions League or, at least, the Confederation Cup.

The victory over ninth-placed WEDA, took Ahly Bengazi into second position behind rivals Ahly Tripoli on goal difference.
But, more importantly for Sadomba, was the fact that he eventually managed to get off the mark and the former DeMbare hitman, a devout Christian, yesterday revealed that it is the joy of executing the job he is paid to do — scoring goals —which gives him greater satisfaction.

“Firstly I thank God Almighty and my teammates for my first goals in the Libyan league. In the first two games I created two goals, which is good for the club but as an individual you need to score goals if you are a striker in order to boost your confidence and that makes you feel great,’’ Sadomba said.

According to reports from Libya, Sadomba opened his account in the 38th minute when he received a long pass from left back Hashem Ben Dala and the Zimbabwean international took a volley on the run just outside the box to find the target.

His second goal came via a tap in with his left foot off a low cross from right back and Libyan international Abduralham Alamame.
Sadomba, who plays alongside Senegalese national Mohammed Diop in the team, also revealed that he was feeling at home in Libya following the welcome he received from the Ahly Bengazi, management, players and technical staff as well as the fans.

“Everybody welcomed me very well. I feel like I am at home, the coach (Egyptian Tariek Al Ashriy formerly with ENPPI of Egypt) knows me very well, we met on so many occasions when I was still with Al Hilal in Sudan.

“I am actually inspired by the fact that the coach describes me as a ‘disciplined on and off the pitch and hard working player’ and you feel like giving everything when you are playing’’.

Sadomba also spoke about the Libyan league where life is slowly returning to normalcy after being forced into hiatus due to political tensions and civil strife in the oil rich country.

“In the Libyan league players are fast and technically sharp, in Sudan they play mostly a physical game and the space is limited while in the UAE it is more mature football, less running, they let the ball do the work.

“The fans here like football so much they stick to their clubs in good and in bad times. Our club has the second largest fan base in Libya and during training we can have more than 1000 fans watching every time and they will be beating drums lighting up fireworks . . . it’s amazing.

“I haven’t set any goal target yet my priority is to just help the club to play in the continental games,’’ Sadomba said. Sadomba said he had observed that the long lay-off for Libyan clubs had “affected some of the clubs who could not afford to makes trips out of Libya because they have to start from scratch in a short space of time for instance players’ fitness, combinations, junior development etc . . . but some clubs like ours have been moving around playing in games in different countries and in my case I joined the club for pre-season when they were in Turkey for two weeks and another week was spent in Tunisia before we proceeded to Libya.”

The 29-year-old striker also revealed that he had resorted to fasting and praying as he pondered his next move after his contract in the United Arab Emirates had expired.

“I had offers in six different countries, we had been fasting and praying to God to show us the way and with the help of my wife my family, friends, my mum Josephine and my Pastor Ruth Musarurwa (Christ Embassy Church) I managed to overcome the challenges and secured a club’’.

Sadomba also insisted that his heart bleeds to note that the Warriors would not be part of the World Cup jamboree and called for greater support for new coach Ian Gorowa and his crew.