adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
IAN GOROWA’S Warriors are puzzled by their winless run whenever they are the home team. Whether it is superstition or a mere coincidence, the fact remains that Gorowa’s Warriors are yet to win a match in which they are deemed to be the home side. Even though the 2014 CHAN is being hosted in South Africa, a determination is made by the Confederation of African Football and announced during pre-match to decide which would be the home team for that particular encounter.
The home team enjoys such privileges as having the first preference to choose the strip they want to wear.
Interestingly the Warriors, who were the seeded side in Group B, which was based at Athlone in Cape Town, were the home team for their first two games against Morocco and Uganda.
Curiously for the Warriors, they failed to find the target in both matches against the Atlas Lions on January 12 and against the Cranes of Uganda at the same venue four days later with both games ending in frustrating goalless draws.
It all changed when Gorowa’s men were then deemed the away team in their third group game against Burkina Faso and a solitary Masimba Mambare 56th minute strike was enough to see the Warriors through as Group B runners-up behind Morocco.
Pitted against Group A winners Mali in the quarter-finals, the Warriors were also handed the away team tag and a goal each by bustling How Mine striker Simbarashe Sithole and Chicken Inn’s Kuda Mahachi, who has been a revelation at his CHAN tournament, ensured a 2-1 win for Zimbabwe.
That victory not only saw the Warriors come within 90 minutes of a first appearance in a final of a continental tournament but it had them installed among the favourites for the title given their solid defence, which has been the rock on which the foundation of their CHAN campaign was built.
The script, however, changed for the Warriors in the semi-final against Libya at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein when they were installed as the “home team’’ and as was the case in Cape Town, Gorowa’s men failed to find their range after 120 minutes of football.
Even the use of their “lucky white strip’’ which they have always worn on the road, did not help change the fact that the Warriors just can’t win when they are the home side.
Their luck even seemed them in the penalty shootout with Libya running out 4-3 winners after a long dragging lottery in which a total 16 kicks were taken before the North Africans finally claimed victory.
Yesterday, Warriors assistant coach Callisto Pasuwa acknowledged that they were puzzled by the statistics which show that all their wins in competitive action have come away from home.
“It is something that has happened even before this tournament because even in the qualifiers for the CHAN we did not win at home. Remember we drew against Mauritius and Zambia at Rufaro.
“We also drew against Mozambique in the final World Cup qualifier even though the game was a dead rubber.
“Here at the CHAN tournament itself we have not won when we have been the home team and I am just wondering whether it is something that has got into our heads that we just can’t win when we are the home team.
“But we need to get that out of our minds and just believe that we can also win when we are the home team. We have at times laughed about it but we hope it will all change when we play Nigeria,’’ Pasuwa said.
Ironically, the Warriors will be the home side when they face the Super Eagles in today’s CHAN third place play-off at Athlone.
On the only occasion that they have won at home, the Warriors beat Mozambique 2-1 in an international friendly at Barbourfields.
But ever since Gorowa replaced German Klaus Dieter Pagels as Warriors coach on July 24, the former Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns coach is still to celebrate a home win with the national team.
Gorowa’s first game in charge of the Warriors was a CHAN first round qualifier against Mauritius away where he got off to a flying start with a thumping 3-0 win over the Indian Ocean islanders on July 27.
The Warriors then hosted Mauritius at Rufaro on August 4 and the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
It was a similar tale when Cosafa champions Zambia arrived at Rufaro on August 18 and the Warriors’ CHAN hopes seemed to have fizzled out following a frustrating 0-0 deadlock with Chipolopolo.
But Gorowa’s men surprised even themselves when they upstaged Chipolopolo with Charles Sibanda’s goal sending Zimbabwe through to their third successive CHAN final appearance as they also became the first team to beat the Zambians in Ndola.
As Pasuwa indicated yesterday the Warriors just have to believe in themselves today and also keep their unbeaten record in Cape Town intact.
Online Reporter