Moyo praises Mighty Warriors’ Cosafa run, calls for better preps

ZIMBABWE women’s football legend Nomsa “Boyz” Moyo has praised the Mighty Warriors for their strong performances at the recent Cosafa tournament held in South Africa.

The Mighty Warriors reached the semi-finals of the competition and finished fourth overall. Zimbabwe went into the tournament three months after their domestic season had ended, and most players were still rusty from off season inactivity despite the brief pre-event camp they were able to hold. Moyo, one of the senior women’s national team’s most capped players and leading goal scorers, said the team’s overall performance was commendable. She called for more preparation time in future and applauded defender Agnes Tumbare and striker Rutendo Makore for being selected among the tournament’s Best XI players.

Zimbabwe contributed two players to the Best XI, while champions Namibia provided three, Zambia two, Lesotho one, Malawi two, and hosts South Africa one — an important shift from the past 25 years in which South Africa had dominated most Cosafa selections.

“The girls generally played very well, I think in the near future we should have more time to prepare and the fact that we had two girls in the Best X1 is good news,” said Moyo.

On their path to the semi finals, Zimbabwe beat Eswatini 2 – 0, defeated Botswana 1-0, and held Zambia to a 0 0 draw.

Moyo felt the team had been placed in a difficult group and began the tournament as underdogs.

“For starters, our group was tough but we managed to finish second in our group and nobody thought the girls would reach that far. We could have done better against South Africa in the semi final because they were not that strong. Our game against Zambia was the toughest game, we had our chances to wrap up the game. The girls played their best,” said Moyo.

The Mighty Warriors failed to reach the final after losing 4- 2 to South Africa in the penalty lottery,” said Moyo.

She felt that in the third place play off against Zambia, the midfield struggled to impose itself. “Against Zambia yesterday (Sunday) our midfield was playing second fiddle and we were losing the ball too much allowing them to play and our defence was caught napping but they managed to re-organise themselves in the second half.

“We had our own chances to equalise and probably to force the game to penalties, our girls needed someone to tell them that they should be patient and play the ball and force Zambia to make mistakes,” she said.

The team eventually lost 3 -1 to Zambia in the third place match.

She lamented the absence of a commanding player capable of taking control and guiding the team on the field —something she often did during her illustrious career, when she carried both the Mighty Warriors and her club New Orleans. Moyo called for more international friendly matches for the national team.

“The girls should have more friendly matches before going for major tournaments,” she said, urging corporate organisations to support the women’s team. She recalled that during her playing days, the national team would camp for up to three months in preparation for major competitions.