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WARRIORS assistant coach Callisto Pasuwa said his men will not lose sleep over the goal they conceded against the run of play in their Chan quarter-final triumph over Mali at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night.
The Warriors had prior to this match built an impressive reputation for their resolute defending which saw them storm to the knock-out stages without conceding a single goal after 270 minutes of football action.
Captain Partson Jaure, Eric Chipeta, Hardlife Zvirekwi and Milton Ncube played a blinder, erecting the hitherto impenetrable barrier for big goalie George Chigova with defensive midfielder Danny “Deco” Phiri also featuring prominently.
Phiri has anchored the midfield with so much authority and dominance one would feel his efforts and consistence have not received due recognition it so deserves. But with progress almost assured, thanks to their two-goal cushion against Mali on Saturday night, the Warriors lapsed in concentration, allowing second half substitute Hamidou Sinayoko to sneak in with a goal, becoming the first man to breach the Warriors resolve.
Amid the disappointment, Pasuwa said conceding a goal is part of the game and it was always obvious that at some stage the team will concede but they will not sink their heads in shame.
Speaking to The Herald from their base in Cape Town yesterday before they left for Bloemfontein where they will play their semi-final match on Wednesday, Pasuwa said: “We obviously cannot be happy at conceding a goal but it’s part of the game and it is very obvious that at some stage you will concede.
“We are happy we are through to the next stage of the tournament which was always our target in this match and not to keep a clean sheet.
“It’s a goal which we really gifted them because with better communication, our defence should have easily dealt with it, but then like I said it is part of the game.
“So we will look at where we went wrong and do our best to correct the mistake so that we don’t repeat it in our next match.”
Pasuwa was also largely impressed by the team’s showing, especially in the first half which was characterised by some neat build-ups from the back with Peter “Rio” Moyo in the thick of things as they kept the physically imposing West Africans on the back foot, while striker Simba Sithole matched them pound for pound at the apex of the team’s attack.
The tempo, however, fizzled out in the second half as the Malians pressed for a way back into the match and the departure of Simba Sithole for Nelson Maziwisa then reduced the Warriors’ physical competitiveness.
“Our performance was quite convincing, we really stretched them with our passing which we crafted from the back. We had a bit of a worry in the second half because somehow we resorted to the high ball by-passing our midfield.
“The situation was further compounded by the departure of Simba who was fighting very hard in the physical challenges so the high ball did not do us much good,” Pasuwa said.
The Warriors have won the hearts of many neutrals in South Africa and if any had doubts about their pedigree, that notion appeared to be changing with the way they dispatched Mali.
The team flew out to Bloemfontein late yesterday where they will play the winner of the quarter-final match between Gabon and Libya on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Warriors team manager Shariff Mussa has implored the corporate world to come on board and pledge financial support to the team as they navigate their way into stardom at the ongoing Chan tournament.
Online Reporter