dyton mupawaenda
Tadious Manyepo in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
MIGHTY Warriors midfielder Alice Moyo says Zimbabwe stand a very good chance of beating defending champions Zambia when the cross Zambezi rivals battle in the Cosafa Women’s Championship at Lucas Moripe Stadium this afternoon.
The match kicks off at 12pm.
The Zambians have made tremendous progress in their game over the past two years in which Zimbabwe had been serving an indefinite FIFA suspension.
Shepolopolo have been to the Olympics, the World Cup and last year won the Cosafa Women’s Challenge, dislodging serial winners South Africa.
The main feeder club to the Zambians, Green Buffaloes have also done well over the past two seasons, playing in the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Green Buffaloes have eight players in the Shepolopolo squad including captain Leshomo Mweemba, who together with three of Zimbabwean stars Cynthia Shonga, Daisy Kaitano and Nobukhosi Ncube have made it in Cosafa’s Best 11 for the group stage matches.
Moyo has been teammates with the eight Green Buffaloes players who have been key to Zambia’s progress in this tournament for the past eight months.
And the 23-year-old knows them like the back of her hand.
“The match against Zambia is not going to be easy at all. Zambians are tough and they are also very tactical. This is also an advanced stage of the tournament and you can’t expect games to be that easy,” said Moyo.
“I know they will try to attack and get an early goal but we are the Mighty Warriors.
“We are looking for nothing other than a win. We came here on the back of having not played international games for the past two years. It has really been hard for us as players and the game as well. So this is our chance to really show how much we have been missing football.
“It is real big chance for us to show the region once again that we are a dominant force.
“So many people are surprised that we have managed to reach this stage of the tournament. But we are a team that has players with big hearts. And it is those hearts that we should also carry into the match against Zambia tomorrow(today)”. Zimbabwe will be boosted by the return of defender Vimbai Mharadzi who missed the last group game against Botswana through suspension.
In Mharadzi’s absence, pint-sized Moyo deployed in defence and did exceptionally well offensively and in thwarting the huge Botswana attackers.
It remains to be seen whether coach Shadreck Mlauzi will throw Mharadzi straight into the fold as he looks to deploy the same squad that picked the all important point that ensured progress against Botswana at Dobsonville on Wednesday
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter