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Petros Kausiyo in WINDHOEK, Namibia—
AFTER nearly stumbling in their first match, Zimbabwe’s Warriors will have all to do tonight when they face Madagascar in a Cosafa Castle Cup Group A encounter at the Sam Nujoma Stadium here. The match kicks off at 8:30pm Zimbabwean time and comes after the Seychelles against Swaziland game. Surprise packages from last year’s tournament, Madagascar seem to be continuing from where they left off at the competition in Rustenburg, South Africa, and shot to the top of the table after edging fellow Indian Ocean islanders Seychelles 1-0 in the second game of this year’s edition on Saturday night.
With the Warriors having been forced to fight from behind twice to grind a 2-2 draw against Swaziland, Callisto Pasuwa’s men must win tonight in order to stay in contention in this tournament.
Pasuwa is not pressing the panic button and was in a relaxed mood as he prepared to psyche up his charges for tonight’s game. “In tournament football it’s important that you do not lose your first game so that draw was still very important for us,” said Pasuwa who was not impressed that some of his players, including skipper Danny Phiri and his deputy Hardlife Zvirekwi, did not come to the party.
“Danny was not commanding. He had too many blind passes. “We were also not compact on our wingbacks especially the left, which led to too many crosses into our area,’’ Pasuwa said. Luckily for the four-time Cosafa champions, goalkeeper Tatenda Mukuruva was at his best and often dealt with the crosses when called to duty.
But the Dynamos goalkeeper was powerless to stop a free header that gave Swaziland an early lead after Zvirekwi and his fellow defenders had strayed off their defensive lines.
Pasuwa also noted that his rearguard gave too much space to Sihlangu who were first to the ball and warned that they could not afford to have such lapses when they face Madagascar tonight.
“We gave their second striker too much room and we failed to track him properly. We also isolated our forwards for long periods of the game and as we go into battle with Madagascar we need to improve on our transition from defence to attack.
“We at times lost shape in defence which led us to being penetrated easily at times’’. But the Warriors improved in the second period and their coach applauded them for awakening from their slumber.
“I thought as the game wore on we became more effective in passing the ball around and attacking from the wings and sending the crosses’’. It was from one of such raids that Dynamos centre- back Elisha Muroiwa grabbed his maiden Warriors goal, turning the ball home in the 79th minute for Zimbabwe’s second equaliser that forced a share of the spoils.
Now their coach wants them to play with better aggression and alertness and noted that Madagascar who sent the defending champions Zambia tumbling out of last year’s tournament at the quarter-final stage, could not be underrated.
“We are putting more emphasis on tracking. Everyone should contribute to all phases of play. There should be more grit in the middle and we should not expose our centre- backs.
“Madagascar are not a team to underrate. Last year they knocked Zambia out and they went on to finish third and for that they deserve to be respected,’’ said Pasuwa.
derick.khumalo