BY MILTON MAZHURA
Saturday 26th of March 2023 all roads led to Rugare Sports Club for a soccer encounter between City Parking Marshals and City Parking Enforcement team.
It was a match similar to the biblical tale of David and Goliath as the star-studded team of Enforcers were humbled by a well-organised Marshals team 2-0. The Enforcement team had talent in every department from the defence to attack with the likes of Vusa Nyoni and Tendai Mwarura just to mention but a few.
During the early stages of the first half, the Enforcers came guns blazing at the Marshals but the Marshals defence managed to contain the pressure. The Marshals grew into the game showing glimpses of a threat they can be but their decision-making let them down a couple of times and both teams had to settle for a goalless first half.
The second half saw a change in formation from the Marshals and the introduction of Tawanda Masarirambi and Solomon Mupfumbu gave the Marshals an edge going forward. As the pressure mounted on the Enforcement defence panic followed leading to poor decision-making as well as unnecessary fouls. A foul on Masarirambi close to the halfway line saw Augustine Leleba deliver an inviting ball into the Enforcement box and the ball fell to Norbert Rukodzi after a miscue by Esau Masunda and his effort at goal was punched by Tanaka into the path of Solomon Mupfumbu who had the easiest ot tasks of tapping the ball into an empty net 1-0 to the Marshals.
That Marshals goal was a wake-up call to the Enforcement team who started to move forward in search of an equalizer. A moment of brilliance from the Marshals technical bench saw the introduction of Casper Rutsate and Tapfuma Matanga an attacking duo a decision that shocked everyone as they thought the technical bench would opt for defence-minded players to hold on to their slight advantage. That gamble paid off 3 minutes from full time as a ball down the left flank found Casper who ran at Warren the Enforcement right back and delivered a cross into the box that fell to Solomon Mupfumbu who slotted it past the Enforcement goalkeeper to make it 2-0 to the Marshals. Jubilant supporters ran into the pitch celebrating with the Marshals. Although it was a social match you could tell what the win meant to the Marshals judging from the celebrations from the players and their supporters.
The ref blew the whistle for a restart and it was a little too late for the Enforcement team to work a miracle to reduce the deficit. The body language from the Enforcers said a lot as the clock ticked on, one could see the disappointment in each and every Enforcer’s face. The whistle blew to end the match and the supporters invaded the pitch to celebrate with their team.
“Is this the end of the Enforcement dominance?” , only time will tell as we brace ourselves for a couple of more friendly matches between different City Parking departments
Social soccer is a key element of human resource management which seeks to promote wellness and team building among our employees. After all, all work and no play makes Jill a dull boy.