Sibanda purrs over Mighty Warriors win

By Ellina Mhlanga

Mighty Warriors coach Sithethelelwe Sibanda says their friendly match against Mozambique on Saturday, in Beira, gave them a chance to look at some of their fringe players in action. Zimbabwe emerged victorious with a 6-2 win over their hosts in Beira.

Mavis Chirandu scored a brace while Erina Jeke, who was leading from the front, Marjory Nyaumwe, Maudy Mafuruse and Concilia Madotsa weighed in with a goal each.

Speaking from Mozambique, Sibanda said she was happy with what she saw.

“The main objective of the game was to try to integrate players into the team and try all the players,’’ she said.

“That’s want we wanted and all the 18 players that travelled played and we saw a lot of positives and some things that we need to work on with those players.

“For example, confidence, and possibly to build tactical awareness.

“Football is all about tactics and any player needs to be tactically good and confident.’’

Some of the new faces in the team included Madotsa, Evermore Mutandwa and Elizabeth Bvunzawabaya.

Sibanda said although she was happy with the way the team blended, with senior players such as Nyaumwe leading the way, this was just the beginning.

“I wouldn’t say we achieved all we wanted. These things don’t just happen in one day, so I would say this is just the beginning.

“But, obviously, I think the players now believe in themselves, they believe that now they can do it.’’

The Mighty Warriors coach praised their opponents for giving them a fight.

“Mozambique are a very good team, especially going forward, but they lacked on their organisation, especially defensively,” Sibanda said.

The senior women side’s next assignment is the COSAFA Championships running from September 12 to 23 in South Africa.

After reaching the final last year in Bulawayo, Sibanda said they would want to try and win the trophy this time around. The Herald