adminmatches to neighbours and pre-tournament favourites Mozambique at Wembley Indoor Arena in the Turffontein area of Johannesburg.
First on the court yesterday were the Zimbabwe men’s Under-20 team who came up against a strong Mozambican side and the Betta Ball Sports-sponsored Zimbabweans came short, going down 20-35.
The Zimbabwe women’s Under-20 team also lost to Mozambique in their fight for a place in today’s final as they went down 23-39, waving good bye to their chances of walking away with a gold medal at this six-nation tournament.
Although the Zimbabwe women’s side lost by a huge 16-goal margin, they put up a brave fight against their fast-playing opponents as compared to the men’s side who were trampled by the Mozambicans in their semi-final tie.
The Mozambican men’s Under-20 team fully deserved to win their match against Zimbabwe who they outclassed in every aspect of the game.
The men from Maputo were technically and tactically superior and left their Zimbabwean opponents chasing the game for most of one hour of play.
Things were made worse for the Zimbabwe men’s Under-20 side when their inspirational captain Devin Saunyama was red-carded in the second half for rough play.
And with Saunyama sitting on the terraces, the Zimbabweans failed to raise the tempo of their game and they whittled under the incessant pressure of their
Mozambican opponents who seized every opportunity to attack and score. Allan Mandeya, the Zimbabwe men’s Under-23 team coach, conceded defeat after the match.
“We lost to a better side. We knew that this game was going to be tough for us after watching Mozambique steamrolling past their opponents in the group stages of this tournament.
“We came into this match just hoping to do our best and we just couldn’t match our opponents man-to-man and we got what we deserved,” Mandeya said.
While it was all gloomy for the Zimbabwe men’s Under-20 side, their female counterparts should get full credit for the way in which they lost their women’s semi-final match against the same Mozambican opponents.
The Zimbabwe women’s Under-20 side came to this match as underdogs but they showed no ghost of inferiority complex against their Mozambican opponents who, at times, used rough-house tactics to stop the Zimbabweans from getting into their half.
In fact, two of Zimbabwe’s key players — Princess Taerukana and Sandra Mtede — received some serious injuries during this match as they got to the end of some rough play from the Mozambicans.
Taerukana was ferried to the hospital after she received a deep cut on her upper lip after she was elbowed by a Mozambican player in the middle of the court.
Mtede also failed to finish the game as she collided with the opposition’s goalkeeper when she was going for the kill after a fast break by the Zimbabweans mid-way in the second half.
These incidents aside, coach Tawanda Mapira’s Zimbabwe side put up a brave fight against the Mozambicans and the 23-39 scoreline does scant justice to the way they played, especially in an entertaining first-half.
Led by captain and backcourt player Evelyn Kufandirori and the free-scoring pivot player Nomatter Chikwira, the Zimbabwe women’s Under-20 side matched their opponents player for player for most of the first half and went to the breather trailing by one point (16-17).
The Mozambicans then seized the initiative mid-way through this period when Zimbabwe’s hardworking backcourt player Blessing Makanda was red-carded for committing three two-minute out fouls when her side was trailing 19-30.
This proved to be the turning point of this match as the Zimbabweans dropped their bundle and allowed the Mozambicans to run out 39-23 winners.
Online Reporter