Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE international striker, Nyasha Mushekwi, fired a brace to start the new China League One season in style, as he helped Zhejiang Greentown to a 4-0 win over Zibo on Saturday.
The 33-year-old has now scored in every season he has played in China, which has been his home, in the past six years.
He scored twice, in the second half, with the first goal coming in the 55th minute before he doubled his tally with just a minute remaining on the clock.
Mushekwi scored seven goals, for the club, last season.
He is considered a hero, at local Premiership side CAPS United, after he splashed about US$150 000, including import duty, for a luxurious team bus for the Green Machine.
The investment was part of his way of thanking the Harare giants for the part they played, in grooming him, for the international adventure which has seen him play in South Africa, Sweden, Belgium and China.
While Mushekwi is at the tail-end of his career, teenage Zimbabwean footballer, Tawanda Maswanhise, is making waves, as he climbs up the ladder.
After hitting a purple patch, with the Under-18 team of English Premiership side Leicester City, he has been included in the club’s Under-23 squad.
The Foxes take on Arsenal tonight.
Maswanhise helped the Foxes’ Under-18 side reach the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup, in March, with a 2-1 extra-time victory over Exeter City, at St James Park.
However, they came unstuck, when they were well beaten 1-5, by their Liverpool counterparts, earlier this month.
The England-born midfielder is the son of former top Zimbabwean sprinter, Jeffrey Maswanhise, who represented the country at the then All-Africa Games, and the Commonwealth Games, between 1998 and 2002.
Tawanda had a memorable FA Youth Cup fourth round tie as he provided the two assists, for the goals, which propelled the Foxes.
Leicester City had beaten Sheffield Wednesday and Exeter City en-route to the fifth round.
Speaking to The Herald, from his base in Leicester, Tawanda’s father, Jeffrey, said his son was delighted after his team’s success.
“Tawanda is really playing some good football this season and he was the toast of the day for Leicester City’s Under-18 side,’’ he said, back then.
“This is quite an exciting time for Tawanda, and his teammates in the Leicester City Under-18 side.’’
As for his son’s future, as an international footballer, he said the doors were still wide open for him to decide whether to turn up for Zimbabwe or England.
“He is still developing as a player and I think he’s being nurtured well at Leicester City and the future looks really bright for him.
In February, Tawanda scored his first goal for the 2020-21 season.
Maswanhise has been on the Leicester Football Academy books for the past seven years.
Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs coach, Gavin Hunt, says his side deserved their 2-1 win over Mamelodi Sundowns and feels they ‘’will get better.’’
The Amakhosi gave Zimbabwe international forward, Khama Billiat, a memorable return to Sundowns as they handed the Brazilians their first league defeat of the season.
Although Sundowns dominated possession, Chiefs created the better opportunities, especially in the first half but somehow went into the interval trailing through Gaston Sirino’s goal.
They got a bit of luck with the equaliser as Samir Nurkovic’s shot from a tight angle deflected into the near post corner.
But there was nothing fluke-ish about the winner as Njabulo Blom’s sumptuous through ball sent Dumisani Zuma on his bike before the substitute placed the ball right in the corner for a composed finish.
“Very disappointed to go 1-0 down,” the Amakhosi mentor told SuperSport TV.
“I thought we had good opportunities in the first-half. And then we were on the back foot but we kept going. I thought on the evidence of the game we had a lot of opportunities which we didn’t take which has been the story of our season.
“Good determination. Good effort. We deserved something for a change.
“The quality in their squad — certainly in the front of the team — is very good so we had to play a certain way which we did. When we turned it over, we had three versus three a lot of the time. You’ve just got to make the final pass.”
Hunt said it was crucial to get back to winning ways after Wednesday’s defeat to Cape Town City and reignite their top eight hopes.
“The most important thing after Wednesday and losing like that, to get ourselves back again was good. We deserved it a little bit,” he said.
“We were playing a few people out of position. It is what it is. We battle our way through it. We should be better in the league but we’re not. We’re fighting on a couple of fronts. We’ll take one game at a time.
“They’re a good team — Sundowns — they’ll win the league. We’re far from that and we need to get better and we will get better. There’s no doubt.” — Sports Reporter/KickOff.com