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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
MIGHTY Warriors coach Sithethelelwe Sibanda has said they can draw some lessons from their last game against Botswana despite failing to qualify for the 2022 African Women Cup of Nations football finals.
Zimbabwe will not be part of the football jamboree after they went down to Botswana on away goals rule in the last qualifying round.
The Mighty Warriors beat the Mares 2-0 in Francistown on Wednesday evening but it was not enough to overturn the 1-3 deficit they had suffered in the first leg at the National Sports Stadium last Friday.
The two-legged tie ended 3-3 on aggregate but Botswana earned the ticket to Morocco on away goals rule.
Botswana will be making their debut appearance at the AWCON tournament.
However, for Zimbabwe it was another disappointing end after a promising start that saw them advancing to the last qualifying round with a 6-1 thrashing of Eswatini on aggregate.
Going into the final round against Botswana there were high hopes the senior women’s national team would pull through but it proved to be a difficult task after losing the first leg at home.
Speaking after Wednesday’s game, Sibanda admitted it was always going to be difficult for a comeback.
Sibanda said a number of factors could have contributed to their failed campaign, including the absence of league competition.
“It was an improved performance really from the players, everyone showed the hunger. I think also after playing that first leg, they were better in terms of match fitness, they had gained something from that first game and we tried really hard to correct the mistakes that we had made in the first leg.
“It’s very unfortunate that we had to lose on an away goals rule because of those goalkeeping and defensive errors we made in the first leg at home.
“I am sure a lot of factors could have contributed there. The lack of confidence and like staying for a long time without playing a match, we made a lot of mistakes in the first match. So it was always going to be difficult trailing. But I would say overall, I am happy at least there was a change,” said Sibanda.
The latest development should be a wake-up call for local football as the degenerating Mighty Warriors at some point appeared to be on course to finding their place among some of the top teams in the region and on the continent.
The Mighty Warriors qualified and competed at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and that remains one of the major achievements by this country in the history of the sport.
They also last competed at the African Cup of Nations in 2016.
And since then it appears the senior women’s side have been sliding down. The fact that there hasn’t been league competition for two years now, has not helped the situation.
“It’s very unfortunate what we wanted to achieve in terms of the qualification to Morocco it didn’t come out but the players gave it their all. We could even have gotten that third goal but it didn’t come. At the end of the day we regroup and I hope in future we can prepare better for competitions, especially knowing there is no league. The girls should get into camp much longer.
“When we got into camp our opponents were already three weeks ahead of us, meaning they were going to be ahead of us in terms of everything. So I think it was a game where we could learn from, improve and see where we go, otherwise well done to the girls,” said Sibanda.
Twelve countries will battle will battle it out for the AWCON honours in July and these include Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa and hosts Morocco. The tournament will see the top four teams qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Botswana, Burundi, Burkina Faso and Togo will be making their maiden appearance at the African Women’s Cup of Nations in July.
Online Reporter