Chingawo rallies Mighty Warriors

they square off against Banyana Banyana in the Unity Day Challenge Cup encounter at Rufaro today. Kick-off 3pm.
The Mighty Warriors goalkeeper said the hosts will instead come out with all guns blazing and take the game to their highly rated opponents who have qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Entry into today’s match, which will also be beamed live on national television, will be free.
But that is as far as the Mighty Warriors are going about being friendly as they have insisted that they are taking the match seriously and want to end Banyana Banyana’s dominance over them.
Chingawo told the media at a pre-match conference yesterday that her players were “tired of playing second fiddle” to their rivals and are ready to cause an upset.
The Mighty Warriors have managed a single victory against Banyana Banyana in their previous meetings with their neighbours and that triumph came on home soil in the Cosafa Championships when striker Rufaro Machingura struck a late winner to hand the title to Zimbabwe.
A lot has changed since that sunny afternoon when Machingura grabbed the sucker punch with eight minutes remaining.
The giant striker has since lost her place in the team and will not be part of the proceedings at Rufaro this afternoon.
Despite their Cosafa success Chingawo said her team vividly remembers the humiliation, they have endured at the hands of their rivals, rather than the celebration which only came once and has been sandwiched by three defeats.
“We are happy to play South Africa again and we are prepared for the match. The girls are confident that this time we will beat South Africa. We are still bitter about that 4-1 defeat in Maputo. We were hurt and this time around South Africa have to pay.
“We are not intimidated by their team which has foreign-based players or what they have achieved so far. We once played alongside players like Nompulelelo (Nyandeni) and it is another game altogether.
“We believe the exposure we got playing with German clubs should come in handy when playing such high profile games and show that we have also come of age,” said Chingawo.
The Zimbabwe goalkeeper said stage fright tends to affect the team in the opening stages of a match.
“It has been our major weakness. We panic and it was the same case in Maputo.
“By the time we recovered we had already conceded goals but we have been working on that and we hope to use the home support to our advantage and play our normal game.
“The girls also want to win the prize money and are really serious about winning this trophy,” said Chingawo.
Her South African counterpart, Amanda Dlamini, who has made history by captaining the team to Olympic qualification, said they would be out for a victory this afternoon.
She also hailed the relations being nurtured by the two countries as they try to grow women football.
“We are very delighted to be in Zimbabwe . It is our second time this year. But we are on a mission we want to win this match.
“As Banyana, we have achieved quite a lot and we just need to continue working hard,” said Dlamini.
Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza also reiterated at the press briefing that they are not taking this match lightly as it would be their first friendly match as they prepare for the Summer Games next year.
Last year’s Banyana 3-0 victory against the hosts in the first edition of the Unity Cup was the coach’s first assignment with the senior women’s siode.
Mighty Warriors coach Rose Mugadza said the match should set the tone for their African Cup of Nations qualifiers preparations.
Zimbabwe will be playing Botswana in the first round of the qualifiers next month.
“We are not under pressure but this is a must win match. We are taking this match seriously as it will tell us whether we are ready or not to play Botswana. It is not a repeat series of what happened in Maputo and whatever went wrong we want to rectify it tomorrow,” said Mugadza.
The former Mighty Warriors skipper has made some changes to the team which last featured for the Mighty Warriors in Egypt .
Right back Eunice Chibanda has been relegated to the bench and the fullback position would be filled by defensive midfielder Talent Mandaza with Mufakose Queens midfielder Emmaculate Msipa forming the first line of the defensive shield.
Striker Erina Jeke has been given a rare start and will partner chief striker Rudo Neshamba.
In the previous clashes, Mugadza lamented their lack of precision in front of goal but is hopeful they will get right this time. Left winger Nokuthuka Ndlovu makes a return into the team after missing out the Arab Cup as she was sorting out a new travel document
However, star midfielder Marjoury Nyaumwe who was voted the most outstanding player in the Arab Cup in Cairo has kept her place and is expected to lead proceedings from the middle where she should be ably assisted by Tsitsi Mairosi.
Zimbabwe Team:
Onai Chingawo, Talent Mandaza, Ruvimbo Mutyavaviri, Patience Mujuru, Danai Bhobho, Emmaculate Msipa, Nokuthula Ndlovu, Tsitsi Mairosi, Marjoury Nyaumwe, Rudo Neshamba, Erina Jeke.