Zimbabwe face uphill task to qualify for CHAN finals after draw with Zambia

By Augustine Hwata

Zimbabwe…………………….0

Zambia………………………..0

For the second straight home tie, Ian “Dibango” Gorowa and his Warriors could not get the victory their fans badly wanted and after firing blanks at Rufaro yesterday, they now face an uphill task to qualify for CHAN finals in South Africa next January.

Zimbabwe have never failed to qualify for CHAN finals, booking their place at the last two tournaments in Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan, but after this goalless draw, the good money is now on the Zambians making it while, for the first time, the Warriors will watch the finals from home.

They need to beat Zambia at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Sunday, something that no other team has done since Chipolopolo moved into that ground as their home, or they need to force a goal-scoring draw or another goalless draw and then squeeze it out on the penalty lottery.

It’s all possible, but after the way the Warriors limped yesterday, it’s not going to be an easy task and should they fail, it will bring to a close a very bad year for domestic football in which the national team barely competed in the World Cup qualifiers and lost their crown as Cosafa Cup champions.

But Gorowa remains upbeat about the prospects of qualifying.

Zimbabwe failed to breach the Chipolopolo defence although they came close with predatory striker Tendai Ndoro and Nelson Maziwisa, who was being watched by SuperSport United assistant coach Kaitano Tembo, who was making a final assessment on whether they take him on board or not, missing clear chances.

But, the Warriors did not allow the visitors to score a priceless away goal, and that could come in handy on Sunday when the pressure shifts from them to the Zambians.

The Warriors only regrouped on Friday morning after their scheduled training programme was disrupted by mid-week Castle Lager Premiership matches.

Gorowa had earlier on insisted on having players for a limited period, but while the local players were reclaimed by their clubs for mid-week league programmes, the Zambians were playing a high-profile international friendly against Senegal in France.

But, with the Warriors expected back at training this morning, Gorowa and his lieutenants are hoping to make the best out of their time in camp ahead of the scheduled departure for Ndola on Thursday.

“It’s possible that we can still qualify from Zambia. We still have got hope and I think my boys played well. They showed a lot of character because Zambia were very tough at the back and we could not break them down but it’s the nature of the game,” said Gorowa.

Zimbabwe started the match brightly in the first half with skipper Masimba Mambare involved in some of the moves that could have harvested, at least, a goal.

Peter Moyo, who was supposed to be the team’s playmaker, was slow off the blocks while his Highlanders teammate Milton Ncube was out-of-sorts during the game and was lucky to last the entire first half.

It got worse for Ncube when fans in Vietnam booed him and he could not redeem himself when he blasted a free-kick straight at Zambia’s Evans Kangwa, from the edge of the box, just before the end of first half.

Earlier on, in the 23rd minute, Mambare could have thrust the Warriors into the lead when he got to the end of a move involving Blessing Chimwamuchere and Ndoro but the skipper hurried his effort on the run and directed it wide off the mark.

Five minutes later Ndoro received a pass inside the box when he turned and shot weakly at Zambian goalkeeper Danny Munyao.

As the game progressed, Moyo upped his game and during the second half he became one of the best players for Zimbabwe while, Mambare, who had done relatively well in the first phase, was now losing steam.

Maziwisa was crucified by the fans when he failed to connect with his head a fine cross by Ndoro from inside the box, following some build-up involving Moyo on the hour mark.

Zambia looked more comfortable in the second half while one irritated fan threw a water bottle at Mambare after he had failed to complete a pass and it did not come as surprise when Gorowa rested his skipper as Dynamos defender Patson Jaure took over the armband.

“I think it’s going to be a very tough encounter in the reverse fixture. People saw it today (yesterday) and we are hoping to do well there,” said Gorowa.

“On overall assessment, our team was not bad at all, it was gritty but we were not very fluid. We had expected a tough game and so I am not disappointed but I am happy with the character that these boys showed at home.

“I am happy with the performance but not the result but we now need to double our efforts in front of goal.”

Zambia assistant coach Masauso Mwale , who is also the Nkana Red Devils coach, said they were content with the draw away from home and they should finishing off the Warriors in Ndola.

“I think we should go back to the drawing and see where we can catch them in the reverse fixture. It’s a fair result for us today. If one looks at how we have played our games recently, I think fatigue has taken a toll on us. We could have done much better but our boys missed a lot of chances in the game.

“But we should commend them because we have played too many games and fatigue is catching up. I think they accounted for themselves well and it should be very positive result for us at Levy Mwanawasa,” said Mwale.

Zambia’s teenage star, Bruce Musakanye, who illuminated the afternoon with his performance, was also upbeat about their chances.

“I am 19 and this is my first year playing for the senior national team. It has been fine so far because it has been great motivation for me to receive the call at my age.

“It’s good to play for the national team and the senior players, especially the captain of the side, have been encouraging me because we play in the same team.

“This has been a tough game but a draw is a good result for us. We have played on the artificial grass before but back home we use the natural grass and we should be better.

“I got some chances and we should have scored, unfortunately we didn’t but we hope to push for qualification for CHAN,” said Musakanya.

Teams:

Zimbabwe: T. Dube, H. Zvirekwi, B. Chimwamuchere, E. Chipeta, P. Jaure, D. Chafa, M, Ncube (T. Muparati 46th min), P. Moyo, T. Ndoro, N. Maziwisa (D. Chungwa 79th min) M. Mambare (A. Sadiki 70th min)

Zambia: D. Munyao, C. Brown, C. Muthali, J. Chisonga, K. Mutonga, M. Chaila (S. Kaluwe 20th min) K. Chongo, B. Musakanye, E. Kangwa (R. Mwape 46th min), F. Mbewe (M. Phiri 89th min). The Herald