adminRicky Zililo Sports Reporter
THE Young Warriors’ preparations for the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship have been interrupted with the technical team forced to release players for the weekend Premier League games.
The national Under-20 squad has been in camp in Zvishavane, getting ready for the tournament that will be held in Lesotho from 3-14 December.
The Young Warriors head coach Jairos Tapera said full training would resume on Monday when the players report from their league matches.
The players that have been released are Motor Action’s quartet of Wisdom Mutasa, Walter Musona, goalkeeper Donovan Bernard and Albert Kusemwa whose team take on Hwange at the Colliery Stadium tomorrow and Caps United’s duo of Ronald Pfumbidzayi and Tinotenda Muskwe who may feature for their team against Harare City. Pfumbidzayi was on target for the Young Warriors when they held Shabanie Mine to a 1-1 draw in a training match played at Zvishavane on Thursday evening.
“So far so good our preparations have been going on well as we have been working on the players’ techniques as well as trying to factor in combinations. I think next week we will be working out on combinations but we need at least four to five training matches to get the players to blend.
“We had been hoping to get a training game on Saturday but now that the players have been released we have to wait for them to report for camp on Monday. I was impressed with the players’ performance during the Shabanie Mine game but there are issues to do with transition of play that I feel we have to improve on,” said Tapera.
Under-20 footballers playing in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League dominate the Young Warriors.
Some of the players from Premiership clubs that are in camp include Tatenda Mukuruva and Abel Gwatidzo (Dynamos), Hwange’s Pritchard Mphelele and Highlanders duo of Mgcini Sibanda and Bobby Nkomo. There are two foreign-based players Willie Blazio Muzvimbiri who plays for Nico United in Botswana and United Kingdom-based Tafadzwa Kutinyu who turns out for Chesterfield in League Two.
Tapera said they will be leaving for Lesotho next Saturday with 20 players.
Provisional Squad
Teenage Hadebe (Bantu Rovers), Michael Maite (Black Mambas), Ronald Pfumbidzai, Tinotenda Muskwe, Takudzwa Muore (Caps United), Agrippa Peperere (Chicken Inn), Tafadzwa Kutinyu (Chesterfield, UK), Abel Gwatidzo, Tatenda Mukuruva (Dynamos), Godfrey Chisungo, Livingstone Genti, Nigel Papias, Emanuel Mauna (FC Platinum), Mgcini Sibanda, Bobby Nkomo (Highlanders), Talbort Mthombeni (How Mine), Pritchard Mphelele (Hwange), Aaron Makuwerere (Maningi FC), Praise Tonha (Monomotapa), Wisdom Mutasa, Walter Musona, Donovan Bernard, Albert Kusemwa (Motor Action), Willie Blazio Muzvimbiri (Nico United, Botswana), Tinotenda Kadewera (Prince Edward School), Obey Hunda (Tripple B), Tatenda Munawapi (Shabanie Mine).
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