Mugove Chigada-Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR long periods in Yaoundé on Thursday night, it was not a football match at all.
It was Equatorial Guinea laying siege to the Zimbabwe goal, and one man standing on the ramparts with gloves on, refusing to surrender — Nelson Chadya.
He was the hero, keeping the home side at bay on many occasions in a game Ramon Catala’s men could easily have lost by a heavy margin and put their Africa Cup of Nations group E qualifier into disarray.
At one time, it was six saves in four minutes.
At that stage, the Scottland goalie was not a goalkeeper, but a one-man army.
Skipper Marvellous Nakamba and Marshall Munetsi went the extra mile to try and control the midfield, but still chased shadows on many phases of the game.
And early in the second half, coach Catala was forced to pull out Tawanda Chirewa, opting for Andy Rinomhota to join the midfield, while Emmanuel Jalai was brought in at right-back.
Warriors coach Catala pulled a surprise when he trusted young Corbin Mthunzi to partner Kevin Moyo at the heart of the defence.
They were stretched to the limit, but when it mattered, they stood their ground, took the punches, got up again, and took some more.
At that point, the Warriors seemed to come back into the game and halt their opponents’ wave after wave. It also allowed Nakamba to play more with the ball, while Munetsi could afford one or two raids in search of a goal.
The goalless draw means both Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea are on four points after three matches.
DR Congo top the group with nine points after their 3-1 win over Sierra Leone.
The National Sports Stadium will therefore provide a massive showdown for the return leg on Monday, and the Warriors are aware this is do-or-die.
Reality, though, is that the coaches will need to work more on protecting the goalkeeper.
Catala said: “It has been difficult to pass the ball and that is what we have to do better than what we expected.”
Equatorial Guinea were dominant in many phases of the game as they threatened to overrun Zimbabwe.
“We are very happy with players that did not play the last matches, but played an amazing match like Corbin and Nelson,” said Catala.
Mthunzi partnered Kevin Moyo in central defence and his speed was crucial to shut down the opponents.
“We are so happy for them and we hope to get a good recovery, rest and try to win the next game.”
When the Warriors enter the National Sports Stadium on Monday, they will seek to be a different animal.
Anything less than that could be fatal.
But the Warriors are aware Equatorial Guinea could still come guns blazing.
“Not always do you play alone, you have an opponent doing well in their match, and sometimes they are effective and do well in a match.”
Catala was also concerned about the power failure on Thursday.
The lights went off towards the end of the game, and the players had to wait for the situation to be rectified before play could resume.
“The lights situation must improve. It can be dangerous for the players on the pitch,” said the Warriors coach.
“We need African football to rectify this situation.
“When something like this happens, we need to protect the players, maybe take them aside.”
The Warriors were expected back home last night. They used a chartered flight.
Equatorial Guinea, on the other hand, endured a 12-hour journey, travelling through Ethiopia on commercial flights yesterday.
This is after they had also flown into Cameroon on match day.
So, while Zimbabwe flew home in comfort, their opponents were busy collecting air miles, boarding passes and, presumably, a newfound hatred for connecting flights.
On Monday, tired legs or not, they will still arrive in Harare wanting war.
Nakamba knows it. Chadya knows it. And now, 25,000 fans need to know it too
