Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
Zimbabwe 2-1 Angola
Angola won 5-4 on penalties
MIGHTY Warriors’ quest for a second appearance at the WAFCON has come to a crashing end after this penalty shootout defeat to Angola in the penultimate round qualifier at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa yesterday.
Zimbabwe needed to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg played in Luanda, Angola on Wednesday last week.
They did replicate the defeat with their own 2-1 victory at the iconic venue in Atteridgeville cheered by hundreds of supporters bused by local sponsors from this end on Tuesday.
But that wasn’t enough as they needed an aggregate win to progress to the final qualification round where Malawi is lying in wait.
After failing to protect their 2-0 lead which, for most of the match looked like shepherding them to the next round, penalties followed.
Goalkeeper Lindiwe Magwede, impressive all afternoon, was the unfortunate one as she slid her penalty off target to hand Angola the ticket to face off against Malawi for the right to be at the continental jamboree set for Morocco next year.
Nobukhosi Ncube, Mavis Chirandu, Daisy Kaitano and Yolanda Kanyai had all kept pressure on the Angolans who were taking the first kick before Magwede failed to keep it level with her last penalty miss.
She should be spared any unwarranted criticism, as all the pressure was on her to keep Zimbabwe in the lottery.
In any case, the Mighty Warriors should have ended the contest inside regulation time, especially after getting to enjoy a 2-0 cushion for the majority of the game.
They have no one to blame after coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda, whose coaching credentials have always been under scrutiny, somehow failed to manage the game, throwing in more firepower by introducing dribblers Natasha Ndowu and Ennety Chemhere while pulling out her midfield industry including captain Emmaculate Msipa at a time they needed to frustrate the Angolans.
Ethel Chinyerere thrust the Mighty Warriors ahead early in the match and Christabel Katona doubled the advantage in the early stages of the second phase.
The Zimbabweans looked well in firm control of the encounter and they could have added at least two more goals to take the game away from their guests.
But two long balls from Magwede were wasted first by Msipa and then by Rutendo Makore.
It was sad to see them losing and crashing out at a time when the new Zifa board led by Nqobile Magwizi are trying to sanitise the game.
These girls, for the first time in the history of the Mighty Warriors, have been on a financial roll, earning training allowances every day.
But the WAFCON journey is over, thanks to their lackadaisical approach to the game at a time when they looked to be gliding to the decisive round.
Sibanda was disappointed to see the girls crashing out.
“It’s tough. I should say it’s stressing. We should have done better,” she said.
