RUSIKE ON PATH TO GREATER THINGS

MARITZBURG United striker Evans Rusike has made the kind of statement that any forward at a struggling club would want to make in his debut season – score against all of the Big Three. Rusike was signed at the beginning of the season from Zimbabwean club Hwange Colliery FC, and despite The Team of Choice struggling to get going, Rusike showed pace and promise as he helped his team to their first st three-point haul of the season on – a 1-0 win over University of Pretoria in November. Since then the speedy forward has scored against Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. The speed with which he skinned Pirates defenders in an entertaining 3-3 draw at Harry Gwala Stadium should have sounded alarms for Sundowns and Chiefs, who would also find him difficult to deal with in the following weeks as he found the back of the net against all of them. “My game revolves around pace, that is no secret,” Rusike says.“I was a sprinter and represented my province in the 100m and 200m national trials when I was still at school. All my coaches know this, which is why even here at Maritzburg I play as a striker that tends to drift wide so that I can exploit all the available space,” he explains. It could be argued that five goals going into the last third of the season is a satisfying return for a rookie striker at a basement club, but Rusike is aiming for more as he seeks to help his club survive the drop. “If I can get to 10 goals then I will be happy, but personal targets are secondary at this stage. First priority for me is to see the team survive; the rest will follow. I am genuinely hopeful that we can pull through because all the players have shown that they have the heart, plus we have a good coach in Ernst Middendorp. We will definitely be putting in a massive fight to stay up,” Rusike says. The 25-year-old admits that his early days at Maritzburg were not rosy at all, with his situation worsened as it took the club 10 League matches to finally record a win. “When I joined the club I struggled a bit to fit in – I think I had a bit of fear. The other challenge was that the team wasn’t doing well, but I think my confidence was helped when I scored the goal that brought us our first League win of the season,” Rusike says. “As a new player at a club that is not doing well, you feel the weight of expectation on your shoulders … it is really a tricky challenge, but I have made good use of the chances that I have had so far.” Rusike – who worried he wouldn’t make the grade during his pre-season trials at Maritzburg – now appears to be on a path that might well inspire bigger things next season. “It took me about a month to be signed after arriving for trials, and I have to admit I had moments of worry when I saw other strikers arrive before I had been signed. Luckily, the club assured me that they had already seen what they wanted of me, and I shouldn’t worry as they were already engaging with Hwange over my transfer. Now that I am here I just want to help my team get out of this situation; everything else will take care of itself once we survive,” he says. By Lovemore Moyo