adminZimbabwe and Lesotho will square off at 5pm in the first of a double header at the newly-built stadium in this Copperbelt town before hosts Zambia meet South Africa in another potentially explosive showdown at 8pm.
The Warriors have only lost once to their opponents in 15 meetings since September 1981and that shock defeat came in an African Cup of Nations qualifier at Barbourfields on January 14 in 2001 with the Crocodiles, who have exuded determination and fighting spirit in this year’s competition, rallying from behind to win that encounter.
Benjani Mwaruwari had thrust the Warriors into a 21st minute lead in that game before Lesotho drew level through Masupha Majara in the 40th minute and then silenced Barbourfields with a Lehlohonolo Seema penalty two minutes from time.
Zimbabwe had earlier suffered a misfortune on the eve of the game when star midfielder Desmond Maringwa suffered a horrific career threatening knee injury after landing awkwardly at training with the Dynamos man having to spend years on the sidelines as he battled to recover.
That defeat was the only blip in an otherwise impressive Warriors record over the Crocodiles in which they have won 11 times in competitive matches while the three draws between the two sides came from international friendlies.
Two of the four Cosafa meetings between the two sides include the 2000 final which the Warriors comprehensively won 6-0 on aggregate with Misheck Chidzambwa as coach.
That also marked the start of Zimbabwe’s dominance in the regional tournament with Misheck’s elder brother Sunday guiding the Warriors to the 2003 and 2009 titles while Charles Mhlauri weighed in with the 2005 triumph in Mmbatho in South Africa.
A lot has however, changed over the years and today a different generation of Warriors, playing a Cosafa semi-final under a foreign coach — Klaus Dieter Pagels — will be hoping to emulate their predecessors and clear the Lesotho hurdle to book a date in the final against Zambia or South Africa. The fans in Zambia are already predicting a Warriors/Chipolopolo final but that Battle of the Zambezi can only become a reality if both sides win tonight.
Warriors skipper Masimba Mambare said their confidence had been boosted by their hard fought penalty shoot-out win over Malawi in the quarter-finals which had helped them walk with a spring in their step.
“We had a chance to watch Lesotho when they played Angola and considering that Angola are a strong team in Southern Africa it shows that it will not be a walkover.
“We just have to work hard to win this match,’’ Mambare said.
The Warriors also fizzled out of the game in the second period of their first match here and needlessly conceded a late equaliser three minutes from time. “It s true that towards the end of the game (against Malawi) we were a bit tired and we lacked concentration from midfield going backwards and that almost cost us the game but we are working on that.
“From what I saw Lesotho play passing game that is almost similar to our so we need to come up with way to get past them.
“I felt great scoring for the team and as captain I think that motivated everyone and it gave me courage.
Hopefully this win was the beginning of better things to come and we will not relax because we need to regain our rightful place as a powerhouse in the region,’’ Mambare said.
The second semi-final between Chipolopolo and Bafana Bafana is a clash of two sides that have very little separating them despite frequently meeting.
South Africa might have lost to Zambia just nine months ago, but Bafana Bafana are among just a handful of countries who have managed to beat the 2012 African champions on home soil in a competitive international. Bafana Bafana will be hoping to do at the new home of Zambian football what they did at the old Independence Stadium in Lusaka seven years ago.
In October 2006, South Africa were added to a rare list of countries that have beaten Zambia in Lusaka when Aaron Mokoena scored the only goal in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.
It was one of Bafana’s best performances and left the expectant Zambian crowd shocked into silence.
Zambia have long prided themselves on their record at home. They went almost two decades without defeat on home soil in all internationals in the 1980s and 1990s and over the past five decades of competition have seldom lost in front of their home fans.
Online Reporter