UNHERALDED Zimbabwe-born left winger Shepherd Murombedzi is enjoying centre stage as a key player at English National League side Solihull Moors after scoring a crucial goal to book his team’s ticket into the first round of the Emirates FA Cup on Wednesday. BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 22-year-old former Manchester United junior was on target in his side’s 1-all draw against Osset Town in an Emirates FA Cup first round qualification encounter on Saturday.
Murombedzi, an athletic player who is comfortable playing in midfield or as a wing back, went on to put another solid perfomance in the subsequent replay on Wednesday which his side won 2-1 to qualify for the first round proper of the prestigious competition.
Born in Harare, Murombedzi left for England with his family when he was four and is now settled in Oxford where he was first spotted by English side Reading aged 11.
Three years later, Reading’s relationship with Manchester United led to Murombedzi heading north and pulling on the famous red jersey in the 2008 Nike World Cup youth tournament in which he competed against the best club sides from around the globe.
“When I was 14, I had a little stint at Manchester United, where I played for them in the Nike World Cup. The tournament had all the best teams from each country for that year enter into it, so Atletico Madrid was the best in Spain at the time, PSG in France, and so on. That was a really good experience for me. Then I went back to Reading and I was there until the age of 19 and last season at 20 I went to Torquay, and then I came to Solihull in the summer.”
He later returned to Reading to sign his first professional contract and remained on the fringes of the first team plying his trade in the Under-21 league.
It was there that, as a Liverpool supporter, he fulfilled his boyhood ambition to play on the hallowed Anfield turf.
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After leaving Reading, Murombedzi joined Torquay United and he cites his time at the National League side as crucial to his footballing education.
“I made some decisions at Torquay which have helped me in the long run. The manager there helped me a lot, and even though I didn’t always agree with what he was telling me, I really thank him for it now,” Murombedzi said in an interview with Solihull Moors’ official website recently.
Murombedzi joined Solihull Moors in July last year and after some injury setbacks, he appears to have settled well at the fifth tier side.
In fact, the talented Zimbabwean is already harbouring ambitions of breaking into the football league and hopefully earning a Warriors call-up.
“I want to play as high as I can. Nothing is impossible,” he declared.
“I have to believe it and work hard to achieve it. When you see others getting a breakthrough, it encourages me and gives me the extra boost to think it could still happen.”
