Young Warriors brace for hostile reception

The Young Warriors have to move mountains if they aim to wipe out a 1-0 deficit suffered from the first leg at Rufaro two weeks ago.
Angolan midfielder Mateus Domingos scored the lone strike in the 65th minute to give the visitors the priceless win away.

But despite winning the game, the Angolans were left fuming at the reception they had received from Zimbabwe as they complained of poor accommodation.
Angola also failed to train at Rufaro, 24 hours before the match as the venue was hosting the high profile Harare derby between Dynamos and CAPS United.
A plan had been for Angola to train soon after the league match but electricity was not switched on for them and they left the stadium without kicking the ball.
Under-20 team manager Patrick Mutesva said his charges should not expect to be treated with kid’s gloves once they arrive in Angola tomorrow.

“We are prepared for whatever type of treatment the Angolans will give us.
“Certainly we are expecting that they will try to frustrate us since they were left complaining over the accommodation and their failure to train here.
“So they might want us to pay back but we are bracing for that treatment,” said Mutesva.
Mutesva said the Under-20 are still determined to get a positive result and progress to the next round, in what seem like a tall order.

“The guys are now more determined to get a good result. We are going to look for an early goal and then try to get the winning goal as the match progress.
“It’s not going to be easy but we will try our best,” said Mutesva.
The Under-20 team has been boosted by the return of defender Vincent Mbira who was suspended in the first leg.

Mbira had picked two yellow cards in the preliminary round ties against Botswana while coach Jairos Tapera has also included Kelvin Balanji who plays at Wieslaw Grabowski’s DT Academy while Paul Nyikadzino has also been called up for training.
“We have 20 players in camp for now but we will trim the squad after playing a preparatory game against Monomotapa.
“Our departure is scheduled for Friday (tomorrow) morning and the game is on Sunday,” said Mutesva.