Khama Billiat: Sublime Performance Despite Injury

Harare - Despite a nagging injury, Kaizer chiefs Khama Billiat put a sublime performance, scoring his third goal, in 41 minutes, for the Wa...

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Harare - Despite a nagging injury, Kaizer chiefs Khama Billiat put a sublime performance, scoring his third goal, in 41 minutes, for the Warriors during the 2019 AFCON qualifier in Brazzaville, Congo

With hamstring strain that even threatened to sideline him out of the contest, Sunday Chidzambwa thrust the striker into the starting eleven.

The strike was Billiat’s third goal in his last 41 minutes in the colours of his country, after scoring twice in extra-time to help the COSAFA Cup final in Polokwane against perennial rivals Zambia.

For a player who spent the whole week battling with the demons of doubt if he could make it in this game, because of a hamstring strain, his goal was worth its weight in gold and justified all the sacrifice made, personal and professional, to ensure he featured in this game.

Khama Billiat

There was interest about the formation that coach Sunday Chidzambga would employ, but once he named Musona, Billiat, Kuda Mahachi and Evans Rusike in his starting 11, all defensive approach notions were dispelled.

In the first half, everything fell into place for Zimbabwe. Congo Brazaville tried to play this match at a frenetic pace, but Zimbabwe poured cold water on those ambitions as they dictated the pace, choosing when to be quick and when to be slow.

Billiat and Mahachi combined to carry the ball out of their own half, in what seemed a defensive move, but soon the Congo Brazaville defence was desperate and despairing. In another move, Billiat fed Rusike, who returned the ball to the former to pick out Musona.

But Thievy Bifouma, the new golden boy of football for the hosts, who was born in Paris and even featured for the French national youth teams before choosing to play for his fatherland at senior international level, equalised for his team five minutes after the interval.

The result, coupled with Liberia – who crashed to a 0-3 defeat at the hands of the Warriors in their first qualifier in Harare in June last year – finding a way to hold the Democratic Republic of Congo in Monrovia, meant that the Warriors remained top of the group with four points from two matches.

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