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Veronica Gwaze-Sports Reporter
THEY failed to qualify for the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA, but Herentals Queens returned home with valuable lessons, which they now bank on to try and defend their domestic title in what looks a mountain to climb.
Another title, they believe, may afford them a second appearance at the COSAFA qualifiers.
“Vagoni Vebasa”, who are the two-time women’s league champions, seek to grab the local championship for the third time and consolidate their status as a local powerhouse.
Currently they sit on fourth position in the Heart League with 40 points from 15 games, while army side Black Rhinos are patched on top with 51 in 18 outings.
The 2022 and 2023 champions have three games in hand after taking a break to attend to an international assignment.
And in their quest to catch up with the league race and reclaim pole position, the Lazarus Magaya mentored side will be banking on some of the lessons they picked at the COSAFA Qualifiers in Malawi.
“We were used to playing and dominating locally so going out there meeting new opponents and seeing how they do business was more of a precious opportunity for us,” said Herentals Queens captain Talent Mukwanda.
“It was an experience and a half for us because, while some of us have been to the Mighty Warriors, for others it was our first international experience and a time to learn.”
Herentals were marking their debut at the qualifiers, becoming the second Zimbabwean team to play in the prestigious women’s club competition after Black Rhinos Queens who represented the country in 2021.
Coming into the competition with an underdog tag, they charmed their fans by securing a place in the semi-finals of the tournament early.
However, for their gallant fight, they crashed out of the qualifiers after a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Gaborone United.
Mukwanda believes that, armed with the lessons from the qualifiers, her team has what it takes to defend the championship.
“Participation at the competition was a huge achievement for us and I can tell you that we came back a transformed side both on and off the pitch,” she said.
“Brushing shoulders with regional powerhouses was enough motivation for us to come back and push harder so that we get another dance in future.
“Back at home, obviously people are watching to see how we are doing after returning so we needed to pick positives from our experience and focus on title retention.”
Herentals’ aim, added Mukwanda, is to earn another COSAFA qualifiers appearance.
She feels that if they are to make a second appearance at the competition, they will be able to win the slot for the finals.
“We got the key lessons which we will use to make an impact going forward, so if we are to get a second chance, obviously we will approach it differently,” she added.
“We learnt new tactics, play organisation, eloquence and even our confidence levels are now higher because we proved to be resilient.
“All the mistakes, which we made as a team, were very much acceptable and very important for our growth.
“With this exposure, what we should do now is to approach our games differently.
“Herentals Queens have a giant fighting spirit, we are focusing on fulfilling our outstanding fixtures and with the way things are going, there is no room for slip ups . . . we need all the points.”
Online Reporter