Mapeza praises Warriors unity

an international friendly at Rufaro on Wednesday night.
Zimbabwe won the Battle of the Zambezi with Willard Katsande scoring in the first half while Khama Billiat weighed in with a second half strike.
With more precision upfront, Edward Sadomba and Quincy Antiipas could also have added their names on the score sheet.

“The unity in the team was great. The guys like Khama are still young but during the game he was really disciplined and played with maturity,” said Mapeza.
“The understanding among the players was great during the game and it also helped us.
“We need more such games to prepare our team.”

Zimbabwe were using the game as part of their preparations for their African Nations Cup qualifier against Liberia.
The Warriors revived their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Mali at Rufaro and now hope to get three points against Liberia in their next home match on September 4
Zimbabwe, lying on five points from four games, travel to Cape Verde for the last game.

Cape Verde lead Pool A with seven points while Mali are second with six months and Liberia have four.
Chief striker Knowledge Musona was excused for the friendly tie.
Musona, who recently moved to Germany, has scored Zimbabwe’s three goals in the qualifiers.

However, Mapeza said he was happy that the players selected did the duty well.
“We are not even thinking about the guys who were not in the squad. Some of them had been excused,” said Mapeza.

“But I feel that those who were given a chance played well.
“So if anyone is to come back to the team, then they have to fight for a place.

“No one is guaranteed a place.”
The coach said he would meet Zifa officials and plan for the next camp.
“We are going to camp around 29 (August) and it’s obvious that the players will only be released for a one week camp,” said Mapeza.

The win by Zimbabwe will also help them gain points on the Fifa/Coca Cola Rankings.
For the greater patches of the match, the Warriors dominated play with the Ajax Cape Town duo of Katsande and Billiat putting a great show throughout the night.

Goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini was barely tested and he was replaced by Washington Arubi in the second half.
Zambia were also missing some of their best players like Lottie Phiri and Felix Katongo who were undergoing trials in Europe. Mapeza still regards Zambia as a good opposition.
“Zambia did well because they are a good team but we were better,” said Mapeza.
Chipolopolo coach Dario Bonetti his players made costly mistakes, which resulted in the two goals.