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Makomborero Mutimukulu-Special Correspondent

IN an empty National Sports Stadium, time appeared to stand still, waiting for an Ishmael, of the CAPS United parish, to seize the moment.

And, probably, prove that he is, indeed, the main man, with or without, an Isaac.

Last Sunday, the Harare Derby was there for the taking, for Makepekepe, and their new star, Ishmael Wadi.

Not for the first time, in this battle of green-versus-blue, which had the capital’s bragging rights and three Chibuku Super Cup points on offer, Wadi had menacingly arrived in the Dynamos box.

The clock showed 78 minutes gone.

There he was, Makepekepe’s number one man, who does business wearing jersey 92, surging into the box, like a football thoroughbred.

He wears the number, in “honour” of his all-time favourite football player Stephan El Shaarawy, the AS Roma winger.

And, if there is a man the Green Machine would have prayed, for such a glorious chance to fall to, then it is Wadi.

 Once again, Dynamos had been prised open by a swift CAPS United move, down the left flank.

 Their goalkeeper Tymon Mvula was stranded.  And, their goal — that one opposite the no-longer functioning National Sports Stadium scoreboard — was as exposed as Zodwa waBantu.

Surely Wadi, the man whose run into the box and bewildering cross had bamboozled DeMbare into conceding their first goal of this competition in the first half, could not fluff his lines!

 Come on, the lad has buried more difficult chances, he has headed them home, from more acute angles in a somewhat journeyman career, which has seen him having flirtations with Monomotapa, Bulawayo City, Black Mambas, FC Platinum and Harare City.

 Ian Nyoni’s sumptuous cross made it look as easy as green apple pie.

However, in a moment that left the CAPS United bench dazed, and DeMbare believing the heavens are indeed blue because the Big Man upstairs is part of their mystical seven million souls, Wadi headed over.

 Bloody football!

One would assume Wadi knows how he pulled that one off.

But, the CAPS United man is still trying to get his head around it all.

 “I don’t know man,” he told The Herald. “It’s one of those football things that you cannot explain. 

‘’I have scored more difficult chances before and, nine times out of ten, those are the type of chances I bury with my eyes closed. “I have had a look at that missed chance several times and each time I watch it my heart aches, that was the winning chance and I failed to apply the soft touch that was needed.”

 If ever there is a Zimbabwean football cliché, then it is tough luck.

 And, it is something the 28-year old Wadi has been hearing a lot – from coaches, teammates and even the Green Machine faithful.

 “I knew that this was a big club before arriving but it’s only after I have played for CAPS United that I fully appreciate just how massive a club it is.

“After that Harare Derby miss, I have received so much support, including from a granny who stopped me in this street, and told me not to lose heart because missing chances is part of the game.

 “Now, when such a person believes in you, and says she even prays for you, then there is no place to hide. 

‘’You just have to accept that CAPS United, and their fans, expect you to deliver each time you put on that green strip.  I have to move on from that Harare Derby miss and fire CAPS United to glory,” said Wadi.

 He has already scored three times, for his new club, in what represents an immediate good return on investment.

So, he knows how to score for such a giant, no doubt about that.

The problem is that the ones against the Glamour Boys, in the eyes of the Glamour Boys fans, are the ones that count twice, if there is anything like that.

There is no doubt his profile, as a darling of the Makepekepe fans, would have exploded, another notch, if he had buried that golden chance.

Better players have missed easier chances, it happens in this game, but what defines their legacy is the way they are able to find a way to pick themselves up.

It’s something Wadi should do, beginning this weekend.