Warriors leave Mzanzi dazed

Langton Nyakwenda in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

THERE are mixed reactions from the South African media, coaches and former footballers following Zimbabwe’s draw with Bafana Bafana in Durban on Friday night.

The Warriors, who were 14/1 on most betting sites and were already out of contention, held Bafana Bafana to a goalless draw at Moses Mabidha Stadium, in the process denting South Africa’s chances of making it to the 2026 World Cup finals. Both teams ended with 10 men following the dismissals of Knowledge Musona early into the second half and Mohau Nkota late on.

It was a gruelling contest that will go down in history as one of the best battles between the two rivals in decades.

The result left South Africa on 15 points and in second place, two points behind Benin, who beat Rwanda 1-0 in Kigali to retain the top spot in Group C. Nigeria also bounced back into contention following a 2-1 win over Lesotho in Polokwane to take their points tally to 14 and are in third place.

Former Jomo Cosmos and SuperSport United striker Mark Haskins feels Zimbabwe have to be proud of their performance.

He believes the contest between Bafana Bafana and the Warriors was “a great advert” for African football.

“A lot of people thought South Africa would just steamroll past Zimbabwe,” said Haskins, who also played for Bivest Wits and Moroka Swallows.

“But I’ve always said that Africa is the toughest continent to qualify from, purely because Zimbabwe is part of the group and are out, and yet they played like a team that could easily be fighting for a chance to go and play at the World Cup. So, it was a really great game, really well contested.”  Zimbabwe went into the match winless against South Africa in competitive matches in over 20 years. But form and history count for nothing in derbies of this nature.

Both teams had good chances, but it was Zimbabwe who won a lot of praise for their fighting spirit.

“It was never going to be easy, and I think South Africa knew that coming into the game. From a Zimbabwean perspective, I think they can be really proud of the performance they put up,” said Haskins.

“I think the motivation from the crowd, the atmosphere at the stadium was electric, and so I think both teams really drew from that, especially the Zimbabwean team.”

The match was a dress rehearsal for the looming Africa Cup of Nations finals clash between the two nations in Morocco in December. Zimbabwe and South Africa have been drawn in the same group with record AFCON winners Egypt and Angola.

“What happened in Durban bodes well for what we can expect at AFCON,” said Haskins.

“Two teams that will know one another that much better, and can plan a lot better going into the AFCON.

“You know, in the end, there were no favours done. If South Africa are going to qualify for the World Cup, it’s because they deserve to. And they’re going to have to do it the hard way.”

Zimbabwe will play their last World Cup qualifier against Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane tomorrow night, hoping to end the campaign on a decent note.

The Warriors have five points from nine games and lost to Lesotho in the reverse fixture last year.

South Africa-based Zimbabwean coach Eric Bafana wants Warriors gaffer Michael Nees to rotate the squad and give other players
who did not feature against South Africa a chance.

Germany-based central midfielder Jonah Fabisch could be thrown into the starting line-up as could goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze, who is the outstanding Washington Arubi’s Number Two.

“The draw in Durban was horrible for the locals here,” said Bafana.

“When many people thought Zimbabwe would just give South Africa the game, the Warriors had other ideas. They caught Bafana Bafana by surprise.

“Arubi was in top form. It was like he wanted to show Bafana Bafana’s Ronwen Williams that he is also a great keeper.

“All in all, I’m happy for the Warriors. We can say it was a good preparation for the AFCON finals. I hope the coaches can now introduce more players, maybe three or four new faces, so that they can also get minutes.”

The South African media is also still yet to come to terms with the result in Durban.

“Most of us had written off Zimbabwe, given their stats in Group C. It’s like many people are wondering how a Zimbabwean team that was choking all the way suddenly found the mojo to go toe-to-toe against South Africa,” said a Johannesburg-based journalist. 

South Africa coach Hugo Broos agrees that Zimbabwe were highly motivated.

“We did everything, tried everything but ok, you see a very motivated Zimbabwe team against us, and we knew it would be tough, but that’s also football,” Broos told Kick Off.

“It was not in our favour, at that moment Zimbabwe just played 20 metres of their goal and they tried with the transitions, they would be dangerous, and they tried a few times with the transitions. 

“They were dangerous too, but this is something that’s very hard to accept, certainly it’s not lost totally but it will be very difficult now.”