adminRobson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
THEY threw the first punch, carry a slender but crucial lead and have had the better preparations but doubts still stalk the Taifa Stars’ pedigree to deliver the knock-out blow in their 2015 Nations Cup elimination showdown against the Warriors.Tanzania will take a 1-0 lead into the second leg at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday and last night played a friendly international against Malawi as the authorities battle to ensure nothing is left to chance in their quest to make the second round of the qualifiers.
“We felt it was wise for the Stars to play, at least, one trial match before leaving for Zimbabwe,” Tanzania Football Federation media and communication manager, Boniface Wambura, told the Daily News of Tanzania.
The Taifa Stars also battled the Flames, in the countdown to the first leg showdown against the Warriors, and while the Tanzanians have had the two international friendlies to boost their preparations, the Warriors haven’t been afforded that luxury.
Even a humble request by their coach Ian Gorowa for the authorities to suspend the weekend’s Premiership programme, to enable him to have four extra days with his Warriors in camp, was rejected and on Monday, which was the first day of camp, only 11 players turned up.
In sharp contrast, the Taifa Stars have been holed up at their training camp in Tukuyu, Mbeya, although they haven’t been working out with their leading players — Mbwana Samata and Thomas Ulimwenga — who returned to their TP Mazembe base after the tie against the Warriors.
Samata scored Mazembe’s priceless goal, in their 1-0 win over Congolese rivals AS Vita, in their Champions League showdown in Lubumbashi at the weekend.
Zimbabwe international forward, Edward Sadomba, was also on target, one of the three goal-scorers for Libyan side Al Ahli Benghazi, in their impressive 3-2 victory over former champions Esperance who fired Dutch coach Ruud Kroll after this loss.
Although the Taifa Stars have the edge, going into the decisive second leg in Harare on Sunday, their advantage emphasised by the fact that they didn’t concede an away goal, doubts about their pedigree to complete the job still remain in their homeland.
Tanzania have only won once, on the road, in their last eight World Cup/Nations Cup qualifiers when they beat Chad in N’Djamena on October 11, 2011, in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.
They drew twice, a surprise 1-1 draw against Algeria, in a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier, and a 1-1 draw against Mozambique in June 2012, in a 2013 Nations Cup eliminator, which the Taifa Stars lost 6-7 in a penalty shootout.
The Tanzanians have lost the other five matches against Morocco 1-3, Cote d’Ivoire 0-2, Morocco (1-2), Central African Republic (1-2) and 0-2 in their last World Cup qualifier away from home in September last year they crashed to a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Gambia.
It’s a result that would be enough to take the Warriors into the second round, for a likely date against Mozambique, and as big match fever rises in Tanzania, ahead of the showdown in Harare, there is also growing concern that the Taifa Stars might not complete the assignment.
“The heat is steadily rising ahead of the decisive return leg match of the African Cup of Nations between Tanzania and Zimbabwe next weekend in Harare,” the Daily News of Tanzania noted.
“Taifa Stars, who registered a slim 1-0 win in the first leg at home, cannot afford any slip-ups and are understandably approaching the return leg cautiously.”
But, even after the feel-good breeze that blew across the country in the wake of the victory over the Warriors in Dar es Salaam in the first leg, the Tanzanians still doubt that their team will deliver and will be a success story under their Dutch coach Mart Noorj.
The Daily News of Tanzania has been carrying an online poll for the Taifa Stars fans, which deals with subject, in which the daily newspaper asks its readers:
“Will the new coach of the national team (Taifa Stars) Mart Noorj succeed?” and as of yesterday, 44 percent of the respondents had said “No”, 31.4 percent of the respondents said “Yes”, while 24.4 percent of the respondents said they didn’t know.
The Tanzanian Football Federation are also sending an army of their fans to Harare to give the Taifa Stars the 12th man they believe will be vital in the battle at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The 2015 Nations Cup qualifiers fall within the ambitious programme by the TFF dubbed “Big Results”, which the association believe will result in a transformation of the Taifa Stars into a very competitive outfit that can make its presence felt on the continent.
In March this year, about 30 players, whose average age was 21, were picked by a number of scouts working for the TFF all over the country and taken to a training camp that was held in Mbeya as part of the “Big Results” programme sponsored by Kilimanjaro Premier Lager.
The TFF officials wanted to identify some youthful players who could be promoted into the ranks of the Taifa Stars to boost the national team ahead of their 2015 Nations Cup qualifiers.
Online Reporter