daniel chigunwe
Bruce Chikuni in PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa
Zambia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0
Zimbabwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) 2
ZIMBABWE put themselves in a strong position for a place in the semi-finals of the 2024 Cosafa Cup after beating 10-man Zambia 2-0 and in the process eliminating the defending champions in a Group B fixture at Wolfson Stadium yesterday.
Goals by Michael Tapera and Takunda Benhura before the half-time break were enough for the Warriors to establish themselves as favourites to reach the semi-finals.
It was a second successive win for the Warriors to take them top of the Group, with six points ahead of their final group match against guests, Kenya on Tuesday, while Raphael Pitisi is yet to concede a goal.
The three group winners progress to the semi-finals together with the best-placed runner-up and the six points already in the Warriors’ bag might secure one of the two available routes to a ticket to the last four.
For defending champions Zambia, yesterday’s loss was the second successive 2-0 defeat in the group and ended their title defence even before they take on Comoros in the final group match.
Zimbabwe take on Kenya while Comoros face Zambia at the same time on the final day of the group matches and there is a possibility of three teams finishing tied on six points each if Kenya and the Comoros win their respective matches.
The Warriors, thus, need at least a draw against Kenya to seal their fate.
A moment of silence was observed for former Dynamos hitman, Norman Maroto, who died at a private hospital in Harare last Friday morning.
And, it was a befitting farewell to the man who would have been among the first to congratulate the Warriors for emerging victorious in a heavyweight clash through his social media platforms, at least based on his habit.
Forward, Michael Tapera created his luck as he fired the Warriors ahead in the eighth minute from a solo run to take his tally to two goals in the tournament.
Chipolopolo switched gears in search of an instant reply, but the Warriors were resolute at the back, with skipper, Godknows Murwira, taking no prisoners.
Tinotenda Meke did well to give Warriors the much-needed width with fine dribbles, which gave the defending champions a lot to think about.
Kylian Kanguluma survived a red card scare in the 24th minute after elbowing Takunda Benhura.
In no time, Zambia were reduced to 10 men as Kanguluma was given his marching orders, following a reckless challenge on the same player, Benhura, something which did not amuse the referee.
Tapera and Emmanuel Jalai’s combination on the right flank gave a decent crowd of Warriors fans real value for their support.
Tapera’s men profited from the numerical advantage as they forced Zambia to transition from their preferred short passes tactic to long balls, something which never troubled the Warriors’ defensive unit.
On the back of the applied pressure, Benhura extended the advantage off a brilliant cross from Farai Banda with just three minutes from the break.
Murwira was just unlucky not to see his fine free-kick hitting the back of the net just after the restart as his effort was thwarted by Charles Kalimba for a corner kick.
Meke was a nightmare for his marker, Mathews Banda, on the left side of Chipolopolo’s defence with his on and off-the-ball movement.
Juan Mutudza was balling quietly, keeping the screws tight in the centre of the park with Richard Hachiro and McKinnon Mushore.
The Warriors bossed the match as they looked more interested in maintaining possession than extending the advantage.
Hachiro was the recipient of the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup Man of the Match award.
Captain Murwira dedicated the win to Maroto.
“I’m happy with this win, and we played for Maroto because he is someone who inspired most of us to be where we are today.
“When the news of his death broke out, the entire camp was shocked and our biggest wish was to win this game for him.
“I also want to thank our supporters who gave us every reason to fight until the final whistle, their support helped our cause and everyone was motivated to make them proud,” said Murwira.
Tapera felt his men deserved the victory as he also shared Murwira’s sentiments.
“The boys did everything possible for us to extend our unbeaten run. They made everything look easy but no one gave them a chance before the game and I was very pleased.
“I also feel the moment of silence which was observed for Maroto motivated them to win this match.
“They were very close to him and they were very affected by his death and I’m happy that they did the best they could to cheer him up wherever he is today,” said Tapera.
Latest Group B Standings
P W D L GF GA GD PTS
Zimbabwe 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
Comoros 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 3
Kenya 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
Zambia 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0
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