Zimbabwe beat Djibouti in Cecafa cup match
Zimbabwe’s Warriors, playing in stifling heat just moments after landing in Dar es Salaam, registered a 2-0 victory over a battling Djibouti in a Cecafa Tusker Challenge Cup Group B match at the National Stadium on Sunday.
In the second Group B match at the same venue, home side Zanzibar, who lost to Uganda on Friday, put their qualification in jeopardy after drawing 0-0 with Burundi.
Strikes from Donald Ngoma and Qadr Amini settled the affair for a Zimbabwe side straight from Julius Kabarage Nyerere International Airport. The score line could have been by a bigger margin but for wanton wastage by Zimbabwe rookie forward Donald Ngoma.
Zimbabwe coach Norman Mapeza rued the missed chances but said he expected an improvement in their next game Tuesday, against Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars.
The southern Africans say they have brought in a development side but, by virtue of being the highest Fifa-ranked nation in the tournament at position 70, they will be the team to watch.
Ngoma, who plays FC Platinum, ticked the scoreboard in the ninth minute after breaking free from the Djibouti defence to place the ball beyond the goalkeeper, Yousouf Abdulrahim.
Ngoma should have made it 2-0 on 13 minutes following a long punt by his goalkeeper, George Chigova, found him in acres of space but his attempt at a lob fell flat. Abdallah Mohammed however almost shocked the Warriors when he sneaked in between their central defenders at the edge of the box but lacked the execution.
Zimbabwe retook the initiative and Qadr Amini’s quickly taken free kick was stopped by the upright in the 30th minute. Mapeza made use of all his three substitutes in the second half amid a scarcity of goals. The second finally arrived from Amini’s low-flying free kick in the 73rd minute.- NationMedia.com.
