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ZIMBABWE’s Warriors finally turned on the style, with a performance that was rich in both quality and determination, as they crushed the stubborn resistance of Swaziland’s Sihlangu to romp home to a comprehensive 4-0 win on Easter Monday at the National Sports Stadium.
Given the pressure that the team carried, going into this game, where nothing short of a victory would have kept alive our campaign for a place at the 2017 Nations Cup finals in Gabon, the way our boys reacted — especially in that second half — was the stuff that the real Warriors are made of.
Some critics might claim that Swaziland are not among the traditional heavyweights of African football and there is no reason for us to celebrate such a comprehensive victory.
But sober analysts, whose thoughts are not poisoned by political spin doctors who rush to criticise even the Government and ruling party when the Warriors come short, will tell you that Swaziland have improved significantly in the past few years.
Ahead of the match against the Warriors, Sihlangu were top of the group, had scored five goals in their three matches and, crucially, were ranked by FIFA to be a stronger nation, when it comes to football, than us.
Of course, for us, this was nothing about the world rankings because we have, with justification, always believed that we are stronger than Swaziland, and our victory on Monday provided confirmation, if ever any was needed, that we are better than them.
Amid the party atmosphere that greeted the referee’s final whistle, we believe that it is important that we remain grounded because there is still so much to be done, the tougher battles are still to be fought and won and we need to take it one step at a time.
We need to concentrate on our next match against Malawi, in Harare in June and that is a very key game because if we win it and Guinea fail to win in Swaziland on the same weekend, we will end our decade-long wait for another dance with the best football nations on the continent.
This generation of players, led by Khama Billiat and Knowledge Musona in attack and the impregnable Costa Nhamoinesu in defence, has shown that they have the quality to play with the best nations on the continent and that they are unbeaten, in the current qualifiers, despite having played two matches away from home, shows that they are a very competitive unit.
But these boys cannot leap the final hurdle, if we don’t help them to do that and the fans showed that they are ready to plunge into the trenches with their men by coming to the National Sports Stadium in their thousands on Easter Monday to give them the support that they needed to beat plucky Swaziland.
Businessman Wicknell Chivayo has also done his part and on Easter Monday, he was there to rally the Warriors, promising them that if they qualify for the Nations Cup finals, there will be some rich pickings for them.
We are also happy that the ZIFA boss, Philip Chiyangwa, is having a big presence in these matches, travelling to Swaziland and also being at the National Sports Stadium, to support the boys while the man he replaced, Cuthbert Dube, never cared to attend any of our matches.
Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane has also shown a lot of enthusiasm for our cause and he was there in Swaziland, to show the Warriors that the Government was fully behind them, and he was also there at the National Sports Stadium to rally behind our boys.
But we need to see more from the Government in terms of helping the team play in friendly internationals so that our coach doesn’t have the pressure of sorting out his combinations in match situations and that’s one key area that we must improve ahead of the game against Malawi.
We also urge other businessmen to come on board and support Chivayo because he cannot do it alone and the Warriors need incentives and we also need to prepare them well so that, when it comes to that do-or-die game against Malawi, they will be ready and as shown on Easter Monday, they can make all of us proud.
We have come a long way now and we just can’t afford to fail.
Online Reporter