When Silver Stars were still in the first division, they famously knocked out Orlando Pirates from the ABSA Cup (now Nedbank Cup).
The man doing the damage that Saturday afternoon in April 2003 was an unheralded gem known as Surprise Moriri who had been plucked from the amateur ranks the previous year.
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Moriri then won promotion with Stars before joining Mamelodi Sundowns in 2004 and played for The Brazilians for a dozen years before calling it quits at Highlands Park six years ago.
Yet for all the joy that Moriri delivered on the pitch, he could have never gotten his break at Stars had it not been for Larry Brookstone, who was a co-owner of the club with Owen da Gama as the long-standing head coach.
"Surprise went to Sundowns from our club, but do you know how we found him?" asks Brookstone.
"Surprise had been a reserve for an SAB team in Nigel.
"Owen da Gama wanted to release him, but I refused.
"Nobody wanted Surprise at the club besides me.
"He was the first players that I ever signed without the agreement of my technical staff.
"As a matter of fact, he is the only player that I have ever signed without the agreement of my technical staff.
"Look at how he turned out to be.
"What happened is that we had a friendly match against Robertsham in an association that used to cater for the old white league.
"Owen had already decided to release him, but I insisted on taking him for the friendly match that Saturday.
"The plan was to then release him immediately after the game as per the order of the coaches.
"However, something kept telling me that there is something special in him which is why I wanted to see again.
"He scored four goals that day and after that I made him walk into the clubhouse and sign a contract with us.
"I didn't even discuss it with anybody else and look what he turned out to be," explains Brookstone.
Moriri – who is currently attending the CAF B coaching licence – is now the head coach of Sundowns' Under-19 having previously been at the helm of the DStv Diski Challenge team.
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