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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THE Zimbabwe Warriors emerged out of the 2014 African Nations Championships with the best defensive record — the only team with a clean sheet — and they will need their rearguard fortress to be at its strongest to clear the Mali hurdle in a quarter-final showdown in Cape Town tomorrow.
Ian Gorowa’s men had the worst strikeforce, of all the 16 teams during the group games, scoring only once in more than four hours of action in their three matches against Morocco, Uganda and Burkina Faso.
But whatever shortcomings they had in attack, the Warriors made up for that with a punishing defence, the best among the 16 competing teams in the first round, as skipper Partson Jaure and his defensive partners impressed with a performance that was the rock on which they built their successful adventure.
Goalkeeper George Chigova emerged out of the group phase of the tournament as the only ‘keeper with a clean sheet and, while he has been outstanding, his case has also been helped, to a large extent, by the good performance of the men providing the defensive shield in front of him.
Jaure has led from the front, barely putting a foot wrong, while he has received good support, on the flanks, from the impressive Hardlife Zvirekwi and the versatile Milton Ncube with his central defensive partner, Eric Chipeta, putting up a steely performance that has sent his stock sky-rocketing in the past two weeks.
But the real unsung hero of the Warriors’ defensive shield has been their holding midfielder, Danny “Deco” Phiri, who keeps taking his game to another level, every time he wears that national team shirt, and has been simply awesome in Cape Town.
The 2014 Class of Warriors have become only the third team, at the CHAN finals, to emerge out of the group stages of the tournament without conceding a goal and joined Senegal, in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire, and Cameroon in 2011 in Sudan.
The Senegalese team at the inaugural CHAN finals did not concede a goal for 301 minutes, their defence finally being breached in the 31st minute of their knockout game against Ghana, which the Lions of Teranga lost.
The Indomitable Lions did not concede a goal, in four matches at the 2011 CHAN finals, only losing their quarter-final tie against Angola in a penalty shoot-out, after a goalless draw, in a match that spilled into extra-time.
Gorowa and his men have shown immense improvement, in terms of their defensive duties, from the teams that Zimbabwe have sent to the CHAN finals with Sunday Chidzambwa and his men conceding three goals in 2009 and Madinda Ndlovu and his men conceding three goals again in Sudan two years later.
Yesterday, Gorowa described Phiri as the “main man” who has made a huge impact, in his team’s impressive defensive display, and said he believes he has created a strong foundation on which his team can build their challenge at this CHAN tournament.
“Definitely, the defence needs praise,” Gorowa told The Herald last night.
“The main man has been Deco. The foundation has been set. To build a house the foundation must be strong.”
The Warriors have given away very little at this CHAN tournament although Gorowa knows that they are in for a tougher test now that the bar is being raised, with stakes high, in winner-take-all contests.
Mali, their opponents tomorrow, have impressed with their attack, scoring five goals in three matches in a tough group that included hosts South Africa and Nigeria while Mozambique gave as much as they got in a good tournament for them.
The Eagles of Mali, who beat Nigeria in their first match, have now scored in every match of their 2014 CHAN journey except just one game, when they lost 0-1 to Guinea in Conakry in a qualifier last July.
But they had won the reverse fixture 3-1, which means that in the five matches they have played in their 2014 CHAN adventure, they have scored eight goals.
Gorowa said from his analysis, Zimbabwe and Mali play virtually the same kind of game but the coach was expecting to look at more footage, using a software he has acquired for such an analysis, before making up his mind on how to approach tomorrow’s game.
“I have been going through their games and it seems like we play the same way, our concept looks the same, very clearly they press,” said Gorowa.
“They play narrow as well and so I’m doing some video analysis with the team and I’m waiting for more match reports on a software I am using. “We are confident.”
Zimbabwe forward, Kudakwashe Mahachi, revealed last week that Gorowa challenged them to be the last team standing, telling his team that they should not look at going back home until next month when the tournament has come to an end.
But they have to clear the first knockout hurdle imposed by the Eagles of Mali and while some of their fans believe this team could go all the way, Gorowa knows nothing can be taken for granted.
His no-nonsense defence, though, could provide him with the ticket into the semi-finals.
Online Reporter