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Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 3
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ETHEL Chinyerere was the toast of the Mighty Warriors yesterday as Zimbabwe thrashed Lesotho at Madibaz Stadium in Gqeberha to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals of COSAFA Women’s Championship in South Africa.
Chinyerere scored a brace in the second half to help Zimbabwe claim a comfortable win in Group D.
She also provided an assist in between goals as she set up Christabel Katona to be on the score-sheet.
The Mighty Warriors, however, will have to wait with keen interest for the outcome of the last pool game featuring group leaders Mozambique and Lesotho tomorrow before knowing whether they advance to the last four or pack their bags for an early return home.
This is because Zimbabwe lost control of their destiny after losing the opening match 0-1 to Mozambique last Thursday.
Only one team from each of the groups will progress to the semi-finals.
Zimbabwe’s win, however, meant that their three-team pool remains open at least until tomorrow.
Mighty Warriors coach Sithethelwe Sibanda revealed the team’s anxiety in the post-match interview.
“We still have to wait; that’s the name of the game,” she said.
The Mighty Warriors have only one option to clear their path: Mozambique have to lose to bottom-of-the-table side Lesotho for Zimbabwe to get the semi-final ticket.
“We will wish for the best. But, whatever the outcome, I am happy for the girls. I am happy they managed to pick themselves up and put up a spirited performance like this,” said Sibanda.
Zimbabwe had a dominant display yesterday, making 15 attempts at goal, but they only managed to have seven shots on target.
They could not maximise their chances, especially in the first half, in which they even missed from the penalty spot.
The Mighty Warriors could have taken an early lead from the penalty spot after Katona was brought down in the box with just 10 minutes played.
However, Alice Moyo crashed her effort against the cross bar.
Chinyerere also had a chance to break the deadlock soon after, but the goal remained elusive as Ennety Chemhere missed another golden opportunity from a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Lesotho goalkeeper Thuto Maifo came out to sweep the ball out of danger leaving the tie locked goalless at the break.
Zimbabwe intensified their efforts to get a goal in the second half and with the game looking like it was headed for a goalless draw, Chinyerere broke the deadlock on the hour mark.
She received a pass from the middle and with an accurate left-footer beat the badly exposed Lesotho goalkeeper with a grounder into the far bottom corner.
Priviledge Mupeti scored for Zimbabwe eight minutes later but the goal was ruled out offside.
But the Mighty Warriors still managed to get the insurance goal a minute later after Katona doubled their lead.
Katona had a much easier task to take after Chinyerere had centred the ball into the Lesotho penalty box, causing confusion between the advancing goalkeeper and her defenders.
Mupeti turned the provider for Chinyerere to complete her brace after floating a ball into the danger area from the right flank.
Chinyerere finished beautifully, with a fine connection that sailed beyond the reach of the goalkeeper from close range.
“I am happy with my performance,” she said.
“We have all been looking forward to winning this game. So, I am excited. There was a lot of pressure to win but we listened to the instructions from the coach seriously and managed to soak the pressure,” added Chinyerere.
Zimbabwe will now wait for the result between Lesotho and Mozambique in the group decider tomorrow to know if they will progress to the knock-out phase.
Mighty Warriors coach Sibanda was satisfied with her team’s second-half performance.
“I’d say we played a good game overall. But we struggled in the first half because we got the chances and struggled to finish.
“But we were getting into the final third and we ended up getting that penalty that we missed. But well done to the girls because even after they had failed to convert that penalty, they stood up and we kept pushing until the goals finally came,” said Sibanda.
Online Reporter