‘We can turn it around’

Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
HE might have fired blanks once again, when the nation expected him to do so much more in front of goal, but Zimbabwe’s main striker, Tendai Ndoro, believes he could fire on all cylinders and take the Warriors to the CHAN finals next year.The lanky forward hasn’t scored since his double destroyed Lesotho in Zambia in a Cosafa Cup semi-final and he returns to where he last scored, this Sunday, hoping to get one and down Chipolopolo in their backyard at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.

The Zambians have the edge after holding the hosts to a goalless draw at Rufaro in the first leg of the final qualifier of this CHAN showdown.
But while the Zimbabweans disappointed their fans on Sunday, by firing blanks again, the fact that they didn’t concede a goal left their window of hope open that they could stage a spectacular smash-and-grab mission and steal the ticket to South Africa.

Zimbabwe have qualified for the last two CHAN finals in Cote d’Ivoire and Sudan and will be hoping to make it a treble with an appearance in South Africa although the odds are heavily stacked against Ian Gorowa and his men.

They know they need to move mountains and Gorowa feels that away from the pressure of their home fans, his Warriors will show their true colours and raise their game a level after a poor show at home against Mauritius and Zambia.

Lanky forward Ndoro, who had been entrusted with the main responsibility of providing the goals at Rufaro but came agonisingly short, believes while they might be down right now, they are certainly not out of the tie.

Ndoro, who is the leading scorer in the Castle Lager Premiership, said he is bracing for the mission in Zambia and they have the manpower to make a match of their adventure in Ndola and turn it into a success story.

“Zambia came here and forced a draw, so it’s not impossible for us to go there and win,” said Ndoro.
“They assigned a man to mark me although I tried and managed to play positively but tough luck on the draw.

“It was a bad day in the office for everyone but that happens in football and we hope to do better in Zambia.”
Harve Renard, the Zambian coach, assigned Chama Brown to shadow Ndoro, giving him little breathing space to inflict any damage on the visitors.
Ndoro said his exploits at the Cosafa Castle Cup, where he was the top scorer for the Warriors, meant that he was a marked man.
“I think the guys from Zambia knew my style of play hence they assigned a man to track me throughout the match.

“But I tried one or two moves although we could not get any goals. Going to Zambia, I definitely think that we will win that game,” said Ndoro.
Ndoro had a real chance to get a goal for the Warriors in the 23rd minute when he got to the end of pass from the industrious Peter Moyo, but he turned and shot weakly on target.

Warriors forwards — Nelson Maziwisa and Milton Ncube — also failed to finish off a fine delivery from Hardlife Zvirekwi and let the ball fly across the goal mouth while Ndoro’s effort in the 85th minute took a deflection off a Zambian player.

“It was a close chance but that’s what happens in football,” said Ndoro.
Another Warrior, Ali Sadiki, who was introduced in the second half for skipper Masimba Mambare, is also upbeat about their chances in Ndola, where they are going in as the underdogs.

“There is a lot of hope for the match in Zambia. We are not down and out yet. It’s still game on,” said Sadiki.
In the game against Mauritius, Sadiki made a huge impact as he created the Warriors goal scored by Mambare, after coming in as a substitute, but the FC Platinum winger failed to change the complexion of the match on Sunday.

“The coach asked me to play my normal football and to be myself. He said I should not try to impress the fans but to play for the team,” said Sadiki.
Yesterday, the Warriors stepped up their preparations for the away tie with a training session at Gwanzura in the morning while they loosened their muscles with a swimming session in the afternoon.

Team manager Patrick Mutesva said the players have been given a rest today but will remain in camp at the Zifa Village before they resume preparations tomorrow.

Mutesva said Gorowa has roped in Highlanders leftback Bruce Kangwa and Chicken Inn’s Kuda Mahachi.
“Augustine Mbara is still injured and is out of the team. At the moment, we only have Blessing Chimwamuchere as the natural leftback and it will be tricky if he is injured at training or during the game.

“So we have called Kangwa and for the midfield, I think people saw how we performed on Sunday and we have brought in Mahachi,” he said.
Giant utility player Oscar Machapa, who was called to the Warriors last week, remains part of the squad.

“Last week, we had 21 players and now with the addition of Kangwa and Mahachi, we now have 23-man squad at training and we hope to hold two training sessions on Wednesday before we leave,” said Mutesva.