The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
HIGHLANDERS’ defender Peter Muduhwa (pictured)has dismissed Leonard Tsipa as a big liar who fooled the nation about the events leading up to the veteran Caps United striker’s red card at Barbourfields last Sunday. Tsipa was sent off 54 minutes into the blockbuster Castle Lager Premier Soccer League clash between Bosso and Makepekepe after he head-butted Muduhwa in an off the ball incident.
The veteran striker later claimed that the 22-year-old Bosso defender had provoked him by insulting his parents, who apparently are not feeling well in Harare. “(During the game) he was abusive to me uttering unprintable words about my parents which I cannot repeat.
“And for someone coming into the match with a lot going on in my life where things are not okay at home, where my mother is bed-ridden and seriously ill, it affected me and provoked some temper inside me,” Tsipa said.
However, in an interview with The Sunday Mail yesterday, Muduhwa refuted Tsipa’s claims and revealed that it was the Caps United striker who employed dirty tricks right from kick-off. “That man was fighting from the start and I also had to be aggressive. He has a short temper and about her mother, it is a big a lie,” said Muduhwa.
It appears both players went into the field of play with heavy stress loads as Muduhwa was also mourning his aunt who passed away a few days before the match. “He hit me with an elbow and mocked me by constantly reminding me that I was still a novice in this game, ‘You are just a young man’, he would continuously say.
“I was also psychologically affected going into that match, my aunt passed away before that game but I tried to play it fair,” he said. Muduhwa was only 10 when Tsipa won the Premiership title with Caps United in 2004 and the Highlanders rising defender says he still retains “enough respect” for the 34-year-old Makepekepe veteran.
“These incidents happen in the game of football and I respect Tsipa because he played for big teams when I was still young and he is a good player. “He (Tsipa) remains a football brother to me and I wish his mother a speedy recovery,” said Muduhwa, who is slowly pushing for a regular start at Bosso.
He spent six months on loan at Division One Bulawayo Chiefs before he rejoined Highlanders in July last season. “I am enjoying life at Bosso and I am learning a lot from experienced players like Simon Munawa, Eric Mudzingwa and Felix Chindungwe,” he said.
