EXACTLY 40 years after Czech international footballer Antonin Panenka introduced the “panenka penalty” to the world in the 1976 European Championships final, Zimbabwean ace Knowledge Musona added his name to an illustrious club of players who have successfully performed such an audacious execution from the spot on Easter Monday.

The Warriors golden boy, in a golden shirt, made time appear to stand still, freezing the emotions of thousands of fans inside the National Sports Stadium and millions more following the live broadcast of the game on television, as his cheeky penalty kick floated goalwards.

Zimbabwe held its breath and for good reason too.

With a make-or-break 2017 Nations Cup qualifier on the line and a gritty Swaziland — who have punched above their weight in this fairytale campaign and shown how much they have improved in the last few years — having largely frustrated their hosts, the referee’s decision to award the Warriors a penalty presented Zimbabwe with a golden chance for a vital breakthrough.

The intensity of the pressure on Musona, as he lined up to take that spot kick was massive, and with the hopes of an entire nation resting on the Belgium-based forward, the leader of the team’s attack in the past five years, there was no margin of error.

On June 5 in 2011, Musona had found himself in a similar situation.

With the crucial 2012 Nations Cup qualifier against Mali at Rufaro staggering towards a draw, which would have ended the Warriors’ quest for a place at the finals, Ovidy Karuru burst into the opposition penalty area, in the dying moments of that tie, before his advance was ended in illegal fashionSouth African referee Daniel Bennet pointed to the spot and as an estimated 40 000 Zimbabwean fans held their breath, inside that compact stadium, Musona stepped up to take responsibility.