adminqualifier second leg tie in Luanda.
The Warriors powered to a 3-1 victory over the Angolans in the first leg of the final 2013 Nations Cup qualifier at Rufaro on Sunday.
Moyo, a former Warriors coach and now the Zifa board member in charge of all national teams, was literally over the moon following a weekend of mixed fortunes for the senior and junior sides.
Grinder was at Gwanzura on Saturday where he saw the Young Warriors put on a poor show and scramble a 2-2 draw against Mozambique in an Under-17 African Championships qualifier in which they had to twice come from behind.
But the veteran administrator, who also holds the portfolio of board member competitions, had everything to smile about 24 hours later after the Warriors virtually put one foot into the Nations Cup finals to be staged in South Africa between January and February next year.
Moyo was yesterday still basking in the glory of the Warriors’ crucial home victory but warned that the “war is not yet over’’ against the Angolans.
The Zifa board member said he was particularly impressed with the manner the Warriors applied themselves in the opening half.
“We played a tactical and disciplined game and the coaches’ game plan worked well in the first half.
“All week we had been watching their training sessions and we saw what their intentions were and they had wanted to really go for the kill and if you saw the game, our strongest area was when we went on the offensive but defensively we were very weak in midfield especially . . . we gave them too much space and only Oscar Machapa was marking them.
“I don’t know what changed in the second half and why the Warriors became so subdued but we are happy with the result and when you consider that the coach did not have everyone he wanted, you can see that we did well and we can only get stronger. We missed a robust player like Willard Katsande or Tinashe Nengomasha so that we could play a pressing game throughout,’’ Moyo said.
Angola, Moyo, also said, had helped the Warriors’ cause in some way with their Uruguayan coach Gustavo Ferrrin electing to keep star forward Manucho and the
scorer of their consolation Djalma on the bench until the second period.
“Their game plan was to frustrate us in the first half and maybe go to half time with a 0-0 score so that he could unleash Manucho and his strike partner in the second half. Of course, they really caused problems for us when they came on and they came close to scoring’’.
Moyo also said he had been satisfied by the performances of such players like midfielder Denver Mukamba, striker Rodwell Chinyengetere and goalkeeper Arial Sibanda who are not Warriors regulars.
“It was encouraging to see youngsters like Mukamba and Arial come off the bench and settle well.
“Although Sibanda didn’t make a huge save, he showed a lot of confidence when asked to come on for the captain Kapini and that was also the time that Angola were really coming at us and had some very close chances to score. Mukamba did well and when you consider that he replaced an experienced striker like Takesure Chinyama in the first half and he did very well. That shows the future is bright’’.
Moyo, however, revealed his disappointment with big Orlando Pirates forward Chinyama and said he had been following his Warriors’ performances with concern.
“I don’t know what affects Takesure when it comes to the Warriors and to me he is not the same imposing figure that we saw in Dynamos colours.
“The Takesure you see in the national team is not the same hitman we know and I think we have to talk to him to find out what the problem could be,’’ Moyo said.
Moyo revealed that Zifa had set up a “technical high performance team’’ which was working closely with all national team coaches on international assignments.
That team which he heads includes Zifa technical director Nelson Matongorere, technical advisor Klaus Dieter Pagels, Soccer Coaches Association chairman Bheki Nyoni, and former Warriors’ coaches Misheck Chidza-mbwa and Gibson Homela.
“The technical high performance team has started functioning and we are doing all we can to assist the national coaches. We were also not happy with the problems that affected the call-up of players and their late arrivals with some even failing to come.
“For the next call up we are going to ensure that we are given enough time to assist the coach to have all the players that he wants and we have said names should be forwarded to the office at least a month before a match,’’ Moyo said.
Moyo, however, hinted that no one would be blamed for the problems that rocked the players’ call-up virtually sparring team manager Nyika Chifamba from any sanctions over the matter.
“What has happened is now water under the bridge and we will ensure we improve so that in the end we do not fight our own players over the national team, we would rather fight with clubs that try to prevent our players from coming but we have to put our house in order first’’.
Moyo also revealed that they has sent four Under-17 players packing from their camp on the eve of their match against Mozambique for being over-aged and they were now probing the fiasco after the quartet had failed MRI scans.
“We paid US$2 400 for those scans and we now want to know who is behind the forged ages, we will protect the youngsters and we will not name them but we want to know whether it is at their schools, their parents, guardians or coaches.
“In fact the Under-17 team was so terrible in the first half and although they improved in the second half but they still failed to utilise their one-man advantage by pumping long balls upfront to the Mozambicans who were glad to sit back and hold out for a draw,’’ Moyo said.
Online Reporter