The date was September 9, 2007.
The contest was a 2008 Afcon qualifier played at Newlands Stadium, which is in Benni McCarthy's hometown Cape Town.
PART 1 | Brazilian footballer who became an English tutor while picking up isiZulu
The scene was set as Bafana Bafana just needed to avoid conceding three goals as McCarthy made his return to the national team after a 19-month absence from the international stage.
However, it didn't go according to script with Chris Katongo grabbing a hat-trick within 21 minutes as McCarthy scored a second-half consolation that left Bafana advancing as one of the three best runners-up.
In that game, McCarthy – a superstar playing for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League at the time – was kept quiet by Billy Mwanza who was plying his trade in the PSL for Golden Arrows.
"We had a member of our national team Chaswe Nsofwa in the weeks before that game against South Africa after he died while at his club in Israel.
"Another issue was that we had lost at home in Zambia in a game that I was meant to have started so all odds were against us in this qualification mission.
"I mean even the Nike kit that we wore wasn't of the same quality used those days.
"We were bullied from the tunnel for the way we looked but, in our minds, we knew that we are here to play football.
"What we always knew was that football is not played with your mouth but on the field.
"In my case when I stuck to Benni it felt like I had stung him like a bee.
"Benni being Benni, he then started telling us that he can pay all our salaries in our team.
"I then said to him 'we are not here to talk about money but to play football'.
"He then told me in my face several times that I'm broke, and I understood it because I was at Arrows, and he was at Blackburn Rovers in the EPL.
"What I was earning at Arrows was his airtime money because he was earning per week while I had to wait for the month.
"I couldn't have ever competed with him regarding money but on the field, I knew I can compete.
"So, after he told me that I'm broke I just said 'It doesn't matter if I'm broke but this is football and let's just play the game without talking about our pockets'.
"Being the clever guy that he is he thought this would distract me from concentrating on what I had to do on the field, but I didn't let it get into my head and demoralise me.
"I was just focusing on my game because this was a do-or-die contest for us," says Mwanza.
SC Bastia trials
"Before I came to South Africa, I went for trials at French club SC Bastia.
"At that time, Bastia had Michael Essien, Pascal Chimbonda, Alex Song, Youssouf Hadji, and Djibril Sidibe among other players, so the drive to play abroad was planted there for me.
"It was unfortunate that I was never signed and from what I heard they wanted a centre-back taller than I was even though I could play.
"Being in Europe opened my eyes which is why I had always been someone who writes down his goals.
"Every year I wanted to tick all the boxes that I had set down.
"When Arrows came calling, I had already seen how professional football works.
Moving to PSL with Arrows
"In joining Arrows my earnings were tripled from what I had been earning in Zambia where I was getting close to nothing.
"With what I got at Arrows, I was able to buy a house and a car, it changed my life which maybe would not have happened had I stayed in Zambia," says Mwanza.
Arrows departure after 46 starts in three years
"It was a sad departure because of events that happened in the days leading to the match we won 3-1 against South Africa which led to me being a target of hatred.
"So, when my contract was expiring at Arrows, I was told by my agent that my salary will be reduced but I refused and left.
"A proposed move to African Warriors didn't come through and I left for China," says Mwanza who is now the assistant coach at Nkwazi FC and the national Under-17 squad due to contest the Under-17 Afcon.
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