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Mugadza said she had wanted the team to qualify for the women’s version of the Africa Cup of Nations which will be held this November in Equatorial Guinea but the team found the going tough after being drawn against the Super Falcons in the first and last qualifying rounds of the tournament qualifiers. The Cosafa champions lost 0-6 on aggregate to the defending champions when they went down to 0-4 in Lagos on Saturday.
Veteran Perpetua Nkwocha, Desire Oparanozie, Esther Sunday and Stella Mbachu goals made mockery of the Mighty Warriors as the hosts raced to a comprehensive win. The Mighty Warriors had won 3-1 in the preliminary round against neighbours Botswana while Nigeria, who were on a bye, began their journey against Zimbabwe and are now well on course to defend their title in Malabo.
“It is the end of road for 2012 because we have lost the qualifiers which we wanted to win at all costs. We made too many blunders in the game and it cost us dearly with our new defender Viola Ndlovu who was playing on the right back letting us down.
“Nigeria played very well converting their chances while we did not play our normal game. The defenders failed to cope with the pace of Nigeria and our midfielders Marjoury Nyaumwe and Felistas Muzongondi didn’t click,” said Mugadza.
Some credit should go to forward Rudo Neshamba and defensive midfield Emmaculate Msipa who had a decent show. The coach paid tribute to the team which she believed achieved a lot within the two years they re-emerged.
“I believe we have done well as the Mighty Warriors under a short period and we are still improving. If we had played any other team we would have qualified for the tournament and I can say we are among the best.”
The former Mighty Warriors captain, who was in the team which participated in the first Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in 2002 and reached the semi-finals where they were humiliated 0-6 by Nigeria, said Zimbabwean opposition have improved against the West Africans.
The Young Mighty Warriors also lost to Nigeria’s junior side 0-6 on aggregate two months ago in the World Cup qualifiers and Falconets went on to qualify for the showpiece which will be held in Japan next month.
In their last encounter, in the 2008 World Cup qualifiers, Zimbabwe developmental side lost 0-10 on aggregate to the Falconets. “There is a bit of improvement on our part as in our first Afcon in South Africa we lost 0-6 in the semi-finals.
“I can say the gap is narrowing. They beat us on experience and the fact that they have been competing regularly. We need to be consistent in playing in the qualifiers of the tournaments.
“But as you can see in the past three editions of the Afcon we didn’t feature as the teams were withdrawn from competing at the international stage,” said Mugadza. The gaffer said now that the team has failed to qualify, it should not be end of the Mighty Warriors brand, which achieved a lot in two years. “The team shouldn’t be a tournament team but should always be preparing.
“Women’s football is different from the men’s where they can keep shape by playing at their clubs and in the league. Our league is not yet that vibrant.
“The team should be preparing and playing friendly matches so that by the time the 2014 World Cup qualifiers start we won’t be starting from scratch again and the team should be competitive.”
Zimbabwe senior women’s soccer team regrouped in October 2010 following years in the wilderness and played South Africa in an international friendly in Johannesburg and lost 0-3.
However, the team getting a lot of support from the new board, wrote a revival piece and quickly won the Cosafa Championship last year in July, qualified for the All-Africa Games, finished as runners-up in an Arab Cup Invitational Tournament in Egypt which was won by the hosts Egypt and also had Tunisia.
During the period, the Mighty Warriors also broke the jinx and finally beat South Africa, not once but twice. The team also had a landmark training camp in Germany and the success landed them a sponsorship deal with mining firm Marange Resources. While Zimbabwe were still reflecting on the defeat, Nigeria coach Khadiri Ikhana, said qualifying is just another day in the office.
Online Reporter