adminNations qualifier and has insisted he will take full responsibility for the loss that ended Zimbabwe’s hopes of a place at the 2012 continental football showpiece.
The Warriors captain made two costly blunders in the opening 13 minutes that literally handed Cape Verde their goals in their 2-1 win over the visitors at Estadio Da Varzea in Praia last Saturday.
Those early goals virtually wrecked his team’s game plan and the Warriors were forced to chase the game in the searing heat of Praia and, try as they did in a dominant second half, the visitors could only pull goal back via a Knowledge Musona 68th minute penalty.
Four days after the Cape Verde disaster, Mwanjali yesterday broke his silence and issued an apology to his coach Norman Mapeza, his teammates and the nation for the defeat and maintained that he would take full responsibility for the loss.
Mapeza has instead refused to blame any individual for the defeat in a game in which with better luck and more precision, the Warriors could have still come from behind and won.
The lanky Warriors coach argued hat the “team had collectively lost the game”.
“It was not down to just one man even if mistakes were made when we lose we lose as team just like when we win we win as a team.
“I told the guys at half time that we might be two goals down but we didn’t need to keep our heads low because apart from the goals we had finished the last 15 minutes strongly and just needed to step up our act in right from the re-start.
“I thought we created enough chances to even win that game 4-2 or 5-2 but those are the kind of heartbreaks you find in football at times and I am not blaming anyone for the defeat,” Mapeza said.
But Mwanjali insisted yesterday that he had to take full responsibility for the defeat in Praia and said he had reflected on the match and he realised that he should have led his troops from the front.
“We started the campaign slowly then picked ourselves up in the matches against Mali and Liberia which brought us back into contention and we were back in with a strong chance to qualify.
“It’s a pity we made mistakes and I take full blame for the defeat in Praia in the last game.
“My mistakes cost the team and I want to say I am sorry for what happened, it is something that I have been thinking about and realised that I am to blame as an individual and also as captain but mainly as an individual,” said Mwanjali.
The Mamelodi Sundowns captain, however, urged the Zifa authorities to ensure the current Warriors side was kept intact and said he had so much belief that Mapeza’s men had the capacity to rise again and possibly qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations finals.
Mwanjali also suggested that Zifa should arrange some international friendly matches for the Warriors during the period that the senior team will be on the sidelines of competitive action.
“We may have failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup but I think at the end of the day we should remain positive . . . it is how we will pick ourselves up that should show our mark as a good team”.
Mwanjali also refused to blame their poor travel arrangements for the tour of duty to Cape Verde for the defeat and noted that the Warriors had been dominant for long enough to have wrapped up the game and turn the tide against the Blue Sharks.
“Our travelling was not the best but we cannot use that as an excuse and like I have said apart from my mistakes and the chances that we failed to use when we got back into the game, we could have won this match.
“I think going forward Zifa should constantly organise friendly matches so that this team retains its form and rhythm and I think it is only by playing together regularly that we can also keep improving as a team and in terms of our rankings.
“We cannot afford to spend another six months or so without playing together,” Mwanjali said.
The Warriors may have finished the game on the losing end but their overall showing and determination won the admiration of the Blue Sharks and their supporters.
Ironically the Warriors returned home empty handed after putting up easily their best performance on the road in the Group A campaign in which they only managed a point from a possible nine in three matches that included trips away to Mali and Liberia.
Mapeza’s men had battled to a 1-1 draw against Liberia in Monrovia in their opening away game in September last year before they came unstuck against the Eagles of Mali in Bamako in March where they suffered a 1-0 reverse.
Despite the odds heavily staked against them in a Group A in which no team had won on the road, the Warriors battled with honour and certainly did not need to bow their heads in disgrace.
Even though in failure they joined all those who had met with similar fate before them, these youthful Warriors have shown great potential and Mwanjali rightly pointed out, they can only get better with more matches and more exposure.
That Zifa board member finance Elliot Kasu who was the head of delegation in Praia also assured the players that they remained his association’s most prized assets and provided the silver lining on their dark cloud.
Zifa president Cuthbert Dube has also already thrown his weight behind Mapeza and his men and with the government also pledging increased support for the Warriors, it is not all gloomy for the senior team.
Online Reporter