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ZIMBABWE’S Mighty Warriors continued with their fine start to this year’s COSAFA Women’s football championships when they finished their Group B campaign unbeaten following a hard-fought win over Botswana yesterday.
After restricting defending champions Zambia to a goalless draw on Sunday, the Mighty Warriors knew that victory in their final group game would seal the deal. And with Botswana appearing to be a tough nut to crack, Zimbabwe turned to their veteran Rutendo Makore who rose from the bench in the second period to provide the goal that settled matters at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
The Mighty Warriors finished second in Group B behind Zambia, only on inferior goal difference but sailed through as the best-placed runners-up from all the groups.
Zambia came from a goal down to defeat Eswatini 2-1 in their final Group B match at Seshego Stadium as they look to remain on course to defend their COSAFA Women’s Championship title.
They join hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe in the last four.
Makore netted in the final 20 minutes for Zimbabwe to secure victory and progression to the knock-out phase, helping her side finish second in the group behind Zambia, with both teams ending on seven points.
In the calculation for the best runners-up, the matches against the bottom side in Groups A and B are removed, which leaves Zimbabwe with four points on the mini-table and Malawi with three.
No team can finish second in Group C with more than three points, so it means Zimbabwe have booked their spot into the last four.
Already-qualified South Africa had to come from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Lesotho in their final Group A match at Seshego Stadium but still topped the pool with seven points.
In the other Group A decider at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, Malawi defeated Angola 1-0, though the win was not enough for the Scorchers to progress from the group.
Madagascar will need just a draw against Mozambique in Group C today at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium to progress but a win for the latter and all three sides will be on three points.
A 1-0 win for Mozambique would in fact see current second-placed side Namibia advance, so everybody in the pool still has a keen interest on the outcome. Zimbabwe’s triumph was greeted with excitement by the Deputy Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Emily Jesaya, who has been on hand to watch their last two outings in Polokwane.
“I want to say congratulations to you on behalf of Zimbabwe, We are proud of the standards you have set for women’s football in the country, you have shown the world what you are capable of doing and the vast talent that is in the country,” she said.
“Your resilience is impressive because against the odds, you still go about and play your hearts out, and this is what I admire most about you.
“From you I have learnt that teamwork can take us far, we win and lose together, and also the way that you respect each other in camp was outstanding for me for the three days that I have spent with you.”
Coach Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15’’ Sibanda, who had at the start of the tournament expressed worry over the team’s fitness and conditioning levels, is impressed with her charges’ performance in the campaign.
“I am very impressed with the record we have set for ourselves; it may not be as outstanding, but coming from off-season to stage such competition against teams that are way past mid-season is magnificent.
“We never had a pre-season, but you can see that with each game, the girls are improving quite well, and this is what we needed from the onset, so we did not have room and time to relax,’’ Sibanda said.
The match was a balanced affair from the onset with Botswana staging a surprisingly strong show following their documented struggles in their opening two games of the tournament in which they only managed a solitary point.
Botswana did well to stifle the Mighty Warriors attack led by Ethel Chinyerere, forcing Sibanda to bring on Bethel Kondo and Makore.
That move changed the complexion of the game for Zimbabwe.
Makore brought expertise upfront, relieving Chinyerere of the pressure while Kondo stabilised the midfield.
From then on, the Mighty Warriors won countless corner kicks and some set pieces although they could not find a goal from all of them. Each time Botswana surged forward and breached the Zimbabwe defence, they found a stumbling block in goal-keeper Cynthia Shonga who had another fine outing.
With Shonga in uncompromising mood, it meant Zimbabwe advanced to the semi-finals without conceding a goal. Egness Tumbare was crowned Player of the Match for her contributions in the defensive end as she fought to keep Botswana attackers at bay.
