adminA against hosts Tanzania in their last round robin match at the Cecafa Tusker Senior Cup this afternoon.
Team manager Wellington Mpandare said the Warriors, who are using a development side at the tournament, are eager to bounce back from the 0-2 defeat they suffered at the hands of group leaders Rwanda during the mid-week.
But they appear to have a tough task in their hands as their opponents, who obviously will enjoy the backing of the home fans, have indicated that they want an outright victory in this match, where winners join group leaders Rwanda into the last eight.
“Tanzania are the host nation and we know how much they need to win this one to progress to the quarter final.
“We have been preparing for the challenge and hopefully we will prevail,” said Mpandare.
Zimbabwe are currently third on the log table, equal on points with Tanzania with three apiece, and as things stand they have their fate in their hands.
They beat Djibouti 2-0 in their opening game last week with goals from Donald Ngoma and Qadr Amini but lost the second to Rwanda by the same scoreline.
“We still have chances to pull through irrespective of the results from our game today because there are still two slots for the best two teams that finish third.
“Of course we are using more of a developmental side in this tournament but like any other team we are going out in search of an outright victory. I think it’s better this time around than in the first game when we had to play Djibouti soon after our arrival.
“We had our training session in the morning and we are looking forward to it,” said Mpandare.
Despite getting the early signs of a good outing following the victory over Djibouti, the camp went through difficult times this week when players suffered injuries and an outbreak of diarrhoea.
Disciplinary cases also took the centre stage as goalkeeper Tapiwa Mafunga and Hwange striker Tongai Magwendere were sent back home after they were found guilty of smuggling prostitutes into their hotel rooms.
“Their behaviour doesn’t augur well with the national team. We always urge players to conduct themselves in a good manner and as the team manager I always do these routine checks to see if the players are in the right places.
“But I was surprised to see women in their beds and we sent them back home,” said Mpandare.
There might be changes to the team with Eric Mudzingwa who missed the last game due to illness expected in the starting line-up ahead of DC Academy defender Tinashe Masika.
Gunners’ forward Leonard Fiyado is also expected to get a starting place ahead of Ngoma as the technical team has indicated that they want to give all players game time.
Charles Sibanda and Daniel Veremu, who were also reported injured, trained with the team yesterday and are looking to get their places.
Tanzania coach Boniface Mkwasa said they were looking for an outright win to cement their second place finish in the group.
The Kilimanjaro Stars suffered a disappointing start when they lost 1-0 to Rwanda in their opening match but bounced back stronger to beat winless Djibouti 3-0 in the second game with goals from
Thomas Ulimwengu, Mwinyi Kazi Moto, and Yusuf Rashid who got in as substitute.
“We respect Zimbabwe and they play well but we will go all out for a win,” said Mkwasa.
Kick off is 5:00pm Zimbabwean time. The Wasps of Rwanda who were unbeaten in the round-robin stage finished top of Group A with nine points following the 5-2 thumping of Djibouti on Thursday.
Online Reporter