Win-or-bust for Warriors at CHAN

of their 2011 African Nations Championships campaign when they clash against Ghana in a crunch Group B tie at the Wad Medani Stadium here tonight.
The showdown, which kicks-off at 7pm Zimbabwean time, is a win-or-bust assignment for caretaker coach Madinda Ndlovu and his band of home-based Warriors.
A surprise 1-0 defeat by CHAN debutants Niger in their opening Group B assignment at the same venue on Saturday night left Zimbabwe with a lot to do in tonight’s match.
And Madinda knows that yet another loss will see the Warriors booking one of the earliest flights out of Sudan early next week.
A second loss in their group games will also render academic the much-anticipated Southern African derby clash between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Khartoum on Sunday where the Warriors have the bulk of the support courtesy of the influence of Al-Hilal’s Zimbabwean striker Edward Sadomba.
But before they can turn their attention to that game against surprise Goup B leaders South Africa, or the earlier match between Niger and South Africa, the Warriors just have to beat the Black Stars to stay very much in the hunt for one of the two quarter-final slots from the group.
Victory for Zimbabwe will also mean that Ghana will be the first team to be eliminated from the group as the Black Stars were also handed a shock 2-1 defeat by South Africa in their opening game.
A draw will leave either side with mathematical chances of progressing as it would mean finishing with four points if they win their respective last group matches with goal difference coming into play.
The two teams’ defeats by Niger and South Africa has set the stage for a battle of the wounded lions and Madinda yesterday reckoned that a tactical game was in store when they meet with Ghana.
Although he described Ghana as a good team, Madinda remained confident that his charges would put behind them the disappointment of losing to Niger and send the Black Stars, runners-up at the inaugural CHAN in 2009, reeling out of the tournament, reserved only for those players playing in the national leagues of their countries of birth.
“We saw who some of their potentially dangerous players are but we cannot really bank on what they did against South Africa because they have 23 players and they might have a game plan specifically for Zimbabwe but we will be prepared.
“We also have our own game plan and because we both lost our games and badly want to win I think it will be a tactical game and it is the superior system that will win the day,’’ Madinda said.
Madinda was, however, worried by the injuries that have hit his dressing room with Clive Kawinga already ruled out of the match.Although skipper and goalkeeper Washington Arubi was back in training after picking a shoulder injury, the Warriors attack was hit by another injury with Premiership Soccer Star of the Year Charles Sibanda sitting out yesterday afternoon’s training because of a niggling knee problem.
Sibanda would now have to pass a late fitness test today but Madinda appeared resigned to losing his first choice striking partnership of Kawinga and the dreadlocked Sibanda by the time the Warriors wound up their training in the evening. The coach revealed that he was likely to use teenage forward Simbarashe Sithole to spearhead the attack against Ghana with Denver Mukamba, who played wide on the left against Niger, being pushed in a more central attacking role.
“We have had our training sessions and our
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only fear now is that of injuries to Kawinga, Mapfumo (Brian), Sibanda and Guthrie (Zhokinyi) is also limping.“We will be advised by the doctors on the fitness levels before we make a decision on how our team will be like.
“Being without Kawinga will be big blow to the team that we had put in place but we have depth, we have Simba and Maroto from the 23 players we have here.
“Maroto is the top scorer in his country and Simba has scored some vital goals for the junior national teams,’’ Madinda said.
Despite dominating much of the game against Niger and coming close to scoring on at least four occasions, the Warriors still fell short of numbers when going forward and there were times when Kawinga was a lone figure in the final third.
But with Ghana being a technical side that also gives away very little in defence, the Warriors would have to take the game to their opponents and play with more adventure.
Madinda acknowledged as much and said they had been working on polishing their attack ahead of tonight’s match.“We have put in place a mechanism of our attack especially our finishing which is an area we lacked a bit on and we have been trying to perfect on that.
“Of course we have also worked on the defence mechanism to avoid the lapses in concentration that cost us the game,’’ Madinda said.
He also gave a strong hint that he will hand a start to talented midfielder Archieford Gutu, who came on as a 73rd minute replacement for Mukamba. in the game against Niger.Should that happen it will mean five of the six Under-23 players in the Warriors squad starting against Ghana.
Madinda could also call on Charles Chiutsa with the experience of the former Monomotapa talisman likely to come in handy to his attack.Chiutsa not only does have a good eye for goal but he can also easily fit into the role that Sibanda had been given against Niger — that of a roving striker playing just behind Kawinga — as he also has the capacity to retain positional discipline.
But after having been left out of the final 18 for the Niger game, Chiutsa may have to contend with a place on the bench in tonight’s game.
Barring any last minute withdrawals, Madinda is unlikely to tamper with his defence which also includes Gilbert Mapemba on the right, Young Warriors skipper Qadr Amini on the left and Nyasha Mukumbi as Zhokinyi’s partner in the heart of the rearguard.Ghana, whose coach Hebert Addo has also refused to throw in the towel just yet, reckoned yesterday that the Warriors would give his home-based Black Stars a tough challenge but declared his charges were ready.Although he was not at liberty to discuss much about the game, Addo admitted that the Black Stars were under pressure to deliver.
“Zimbabwe are a very good team and very strong. We lost our first game and we know it is a big challenge for us to win this match and we will give it our best,’’ Addo said.
After squandering a first half lead in their defeat by South Africa, Ghana know they cannot afford a similar mistake but the Warriors appear to have other ideas and are not in the mood to return home just yet.
Despite not being amused by the non-payment of their allowances and murmurs of disgruntlement growing louder in the corridors of their team hotel, the Warriors have remained keen on trying to secure one of the Group B quarter-final berths.
“The problem is that our team management has not been communicating the exact position with regards our allowances and the only communication we got was that someone was due to follow to Sudan with the allowances by the weekend and now it is Wednesday and they are just not saying anything,’’ said the players.
The players had requested for a “clear the air meeting’’ with team manager Chris Chitindi and Zifa board member Patrick Hokonya, who is the head of delegation on this tour of duty, which was due for late last night.The indaba, the players said, was crucial in averting a crisis before they meet Ghana.