In this week's edition of My Welcome to the League Moment, KickOff has tracked down former Mpumalanga Black Aces goalkeeper Bafana Nhlapo, who reveals how Knowledge Musona sent shivers down his spine before his first game against Kaizer Chiefs.
Nhlapo, who made his Premier Soccer League debut at the age of 33, says he will never forget the moment he had to come up against a Kaizer Chiefs side that featured Musona.
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"My biggest moment came against Kaizer Chiefs. That was my first ever PSL match, [against] a team I idolized growing up because my role model was Brian Baloyi," Nhlapo reveals.
"I must say being coached by Clive Barker at Mpumalanga Black Aces tested me that day. Imagine being coached by a legendary Bafana Bafana coach... you don't want to let him down.
"He is the first coach to coach me in the PSL, and now he has decided to throw me into the deep end, it's my first match and it's against Kaizer Chiefs. That did put me under a lot of pressure.
"I had to repay him by performing to the best of my ability the whole game," he adds.
Nhlapo says fortunately, he was 33 by then, meaning he was ready for whatever top-flight football had to throw at him, though not experienced at that level.
"So, I had to prove myself and at the same time justify the coach's decision to start with me in goals.
"I remember it as if it was yesterday, Musona was still at Kaizer Chiefs and hey, it was tough! That team of Siphiwe Tshabalala, Itumeleng Khune and Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
"I'm up against the most dangerous striker in the league, Knowledge Musona, I'm a goalkeeper and it's my PSL debut.
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"A striker up until today I have only seen on television scoring week in and week out. I couldn't sleep the whole night. But to my surprise, I ended up having a good game even though we lost 1-0."