Mighty Warriors hold Hamburger

his charges on Wednesday night in a 2-2 draw in this international friendly match.
The Geman team, rated the third best in that country, has one player in the national team which crashed out of the quarter-finals of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The Germans were expected to steamroll past their opponents.
But Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves in this high-profile encounter, which was attended by officials from the Germany Football Federation and the Germany Olympic Committee.
It was not an easy game as both teams sweated for a share of spoils.
The hosts were technically superior and had better physically conditioning than the Zimbabweans.
They scored as early as the fourth minute when Silva Salander’s free-kick beat skipper Onai Chingawo.
And, for the first time during this tour, the visitors were chasing shadows.
But Zimbabwe’s chief striker Rudo Neshamba levelled terms when she connected a perfect cross flighted from the flank by Majoury Nyaumwe.
However, the Bundesliga side regained the lead when Carolin Simon’s inswinger, from the flank, beat a badly-exposed Chingawo. As action swung from one end to another, Zimbabwe regained their confidence and started to build their attacks from the back with Nyaumwe coming out of the shell and dictating pace.
Three minutes after the break, the Mighty Warriors equalised through forward Ntombiyelanga Ndlovu who fired home after a fine delivery from Emmaculate Msipa.
The Mighty Warriors took the game to the hosts and Hamburger, who will start their new season in two weeks time, were on the ropes.
The visitors’ spirit charmed the Hamburger coach.
“I was really impressed by Zimbabwe national team. Here we have a first, second and third Bundesliga league,” he said.
“We have good resources and trainers. The clubs are organised but today we didn’t see any difference.
“We were at par with Zimbabwe and the Zimbabweans were very aggressive and very good in forward positions.
“I think Zimbabwe was the better side and had the possibility of winning the game, especially in the last 30 minutes.
“It was a good experience playing an African national team and really they showed us that there is no difference between their game and our game,” said Feifel.
The German coach singled out Neshamba, Nyaumwe and Nokuthula Ndlovu as good players and he believes they can play in Europe.
Among the guests at the match was the widow of former Warriors coach, Reinhard Fabisch, Chawada, and her son Jonah.
Chawada, a former Zimbabwean athlete, paid tribute to the Mighty Warriors for flying the country’s flag high in Germany.
“I was very happy today and watching a national team from Zimbabwe took me down the memory lane,” she said.
“The girls play exciting football and I was particularly impressed by No. 12 (Nyaumwe) and No. 15 Neshamba.
“I think it was a good thing to have a national team coming all the way here for intensive training,” said Chawada.
In Wednesday’s match, Mighty Warriors coach Rose Mugadza started with the team she is expecting to use in the opening match of the All-Africa Games.
With centreback Nobuhle Majika missing the first match in Maputo, as she is on suspension after accumulating yellow cards, Mugadza opted for Talent Mandaza in that role. She threw Emmaculate Msipa in the defensive role.
Zimbabwe:
O.Chingawo(C. Dzingirai 46th minute), D. Bhobho, T. Mandaza, E. Chibanda, S. Makoto, E. Msipa, N. Ndlovu, T. Mairosi, M. Nyaumwe, R. Neshamba (V. Bepete 81st minute), N. Ndlovu (E. Jeke 80th minute).