Just One More Hurdle

Four years after their last meeting in the final of the same competition, Zimbabwe and Zambia will lock horns again at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola with Chipolopolo seeking to avenge the 3-1 defeat they suffered at Rufaro in 2009.

Nyasha Mushekwi returned from an injury that had kept him out of the semi-finals to fire a brace, justifying his coach Sunday Chidzambwa’s faith in his goal-scoring instincts, while Cuthbert Malajila added the other as the Warriors cruised to a fourth Cosafa Cup title on home soil.

That fourth title became a record and Chipolopolo, with three championships, can equal that record as the other team with three titles, Angola, could only make it to the Plate final against Mozambique at Nkana Stadium here yesterday.

The Angolans, however, came unstuck against the Mambas who beat them 1-0 to be crowned the first ever Plate winners of the Southern African championship.
The only goal of the game was scored in the first half by Apson Manjare, while the Palancas Negras finished the game with 10 men after the sending off of Antonio Nzayinawo.

But as they woke up to the reality that they are facing their old foes in a repeat of the 2009 finals, the Warriors were also yesterday counting their losses after Dynamos left back Ocean Mushure joined striker Lot Chiwunga of Black Rhinos and Black Mambas winger Nicholas Alifandika on the sidelines.

Mushure complained of pain in his hamstring, while Alifandika who, surprisingly came to Zambia while carrying an injury, was back on the sidelines yesterday after featuring for just 32 minutes as a second-half substitute in Wednesday’s semi-final against Lesotho which the Warriors won 2-1.

But a ray of hope filtered through with CAPS United right wingback Hardlife Zvirekwi, who missed the win over the Crocodiles, resuming training.
Should Zvirekwi and Mushure be certified fit to play in tomorrow’s final, then the Warriors defence, which looked jittery against Lesotho, could take some shape.

Coach Klaus Dieter Pagels, who has mourned the limitations he faced at home when selecting his team, expressed concern with the rate at which the Warriors were going down with injuries.

Pagels partly blamed the injuries on the “poor physical condition of the Premiership players,’’ but said he was relieved to see Zvirekwi up and running again.
“Injuries are a problem for us now but I think Hardlife is back and should play in the final,” said Pagels.

“Ocean has a hamstring problem and we have given him a rest and if it persists then his doctors at Dynamos would also have to make sure that they work on it.
“Tiko (Alifandika) and Lot are also down with injuries.”

The German mentor, who leaves his post after this game and returns home to Germany, took his charges for a recovery session in the afternoon at the Arthur Davies Stadium in Kitwe, which is the home of Tennant Chilumba’s Power Dynamos.

He reiterated that he had been disappointed by the Warriors’ performance against Lesotho.
Pagels felt that the Warriors would be underdogs in tomorrow’s final but insisted that they would not be pummelled into submission by a Chipolopolo side that has impressed at this tournament but was restricted to a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes of football by Bafana Bafana’s third string side in their semi-final tie.

Zambia then prevailed 5-3 on penalties after Lerato Chabangu had his effort saved in the shootout lottery.
With the hosts also set to have the backing of a full house at the recently-built 40 000-seater stadium, Pagels reckoned that the stakes were against Zimbabwe in the final.

“We are the underdogs going into the final. Maybe it will be to our small advantage that Zambia played 120 minutes in their semi-final but that is a small advantage under these circumstances.

“Today we have trained to recover and make sure that the boys are confident.
“We are trying to psyche them up and each player must learn to play for more than 70 minutes because we have been losing concentration as they get tired,’’ Pagels said.
Pagels also said he did not expect the Warriors to feel intimidated by the expected full house at the stadium.

“Some of these players have played matches against Dynamos and Highlanders and should know what it means to play before a big crowd and this is their chance to show that they can play on the big stage,’’ Pagels said.

His Chipolopolo counterpart, Herve Renard, said they were now ready to win the Cosafa Cup after seeing off the Bafana Bafana challenge in the semi-finals.
Renard, who started the game with the same team that beat Mozambique 3-1 in the quarter-finals, was also relieved that the hosts had avenged for consecutive Cosafa Cup defeats at the hands of South Africa in the 2007 final and the 2008 semi-finals.

“I have never played a tough and difficult game like this one. We have qualified for the final and when you reach the final there is only one issue and that is to win the final,” Renard said.

Earlier in the day the Warriors and Chipolopolo accepted a request by Bafana Bafana as the six teams remaining in Zambia for the final few days of the tournament did their bit to honour the “67 minutes for Madiba” campaign on the 95th birthday of former South African president Nelson Mandela yesterday.

The South African squad requested the opportunity to make a charitable donation of their time for the important cause and were quickly joined by tournament hosts Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Angola and Mozambique.

Bafana Bafana players, coaching staff and team management went to the SOS Children’s Village in Lusaka where they handed out gifts and spent time with the children.
The “67 minutes for Madiba” campaign is a recognition of the 67 years that Mandela gave to politics and helping to improve the lives of the less fortunate.

Chipolopolo visited St Anthony Children’s Village in Ndola where they donated soccer balls, food and toys and where Renard emphasised the need for society to play a larger role in helping the needy and praised the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

“It should not only be about today because it is the birthday of the global icon. We should do this in our communities daily,” Renard said. Zimbabwe visited the Friends of the Street Children NGO in Kitwe while Lesotho toured the Ubumi Project Africa which is also in the same town.