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Sports Reporter

King Jones tells how he stopped hard tackler Misheck Sibanda…

When I arrived for my first training session at Zimbabwe Saints in 1989, we used to have physical training on Tuesdays.

We never got to touch a ball, then skills and set play and drills followed on Wednesday to Thursday.

Friday was always the most intense session, as the team for the game was picked then, anyways I remember my fist training game, was chosen in the second stream team, I didn’t mind that at all, was just so excited, but scared mostly.

When we decided who would play where, Shayne Khamal was very quick to send me to the left wing, I remember all the guys laughing, but didn’t know why.

Only to realise that I was sent to face the hardest, and toughest tackler Misheck Sibanda.

Man I tell you when we got going, that man chopped and broke me down at every turn, I tried everything but he was just too solid, he played with me like a rag doll, I had no answer for this man.

I left the training ground a broken and defeated man, I thought at this rate I’ll never make the cut in the big league.

Anyways the following week, I trained hard, and was looking forward to Friday’s training match. When we were selecting the team I was the first to volunteer to play on the left wing, this time my teammates were shocked but still laughed. Little did they know I came prepared for that man, no word of a lie I put shin pads in the front of my shin, and the back of my calfs, and went to battle.

 Yoyo I tell you Misheck tried all his dirty tactics and tricks, nothing was working, towards the end of the session, that man was victim, I completely turned the tables around, I and was breezing passed him like he wasn’t even there.

By the time the following Friday arrived, and Misheck being our captain, he ordered me to go play on the other side of the pitch, he said he didn’t want to see me anywhere near him.

So eventually it got to a point where none of the defenders wanted me near them, as I made them all look bad, and since the team was selected on Friday, they were afraid of missing the final selection.

 If ever you get to meet the former Bosso manager Lawrence Phiri, he can relate that story, as I did it to his team once at Barbourfields.