Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
veronica.gwaze@zimpapers .co.zw
Zimbabwe’s Under-15 girls know what is at stake this afternoon. They need at least four points from clashes against the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia at Gateway High School to keep their Caf African Schools Championship semi-final hopes alive.
They head into those matches with something to build on — a 2-2 draw against Morocco in their opener yesterday in the 20-minute format. Zimbabwe were slow out of the blocks and paid the price. Morocco struck early, catching them cold. But the response came quickly.
Winnie Mapuwa stepped up five minutes later, finishing from close range after getting on the end of a low ball inside the box. That goal settled nerves. You could see it.
Zimbabwe began to grow into the game, pushing Morocco back and asking more questions. The pressure told. Lakeivia Tanaka Jaravani put the hosts ahead, capping a spell where Zimbabwe looked the better side and in control.
But they could not shut it down. Morocco kept coming. They thought they had equalised around the half-hour mark, only for the goal to be ruled out. It did not stop them. They eventually found a way through in the 34th minute, punishing Zimbabwe’s lapses at the back before closing it out.
Coach Irene Mwanza did not hide her satisfaction, even with the dropped lead.
“I am very happy with how the girls performed, especially considering that we regrouped just a few days ago and had so much to cover in a short time,” she said.
“They were able to play according to instruction most of the time but in some moments we failed and unfortunately got punished.
“In terms of exposure, you could see that the opponent was ahead of us, so the girls needed confidence to match them and special mention to our goalkeeper, who did more than enough to rescue us countlessly today (yesterday).”
The message from the bench is clear now: fix the backline or risk going home early.
“Our defence was not solid, we need to correct that before we play our last two games…we are playing familiar opponents and we know it will not be easy,” Mwanza said.
The boys are in the same position. Zimbabwe’s Under-15 boys opened with a 1-1 draw against Uganda and now face the Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco to wrap up their Group A fixtures.
Off the pitch, former Mighty Warriors forward Rudo Neshamba has welcomed the tournament being staged locally, saying it opens doors for young players.
“The tournament will go a long way in providing the much needed platform where young talent can be identified in a highly competition setup,” she said.
“From there, coaches can then be able to track the players’ development as they graduate through the stages. Precisely, such tournaments are the real pathways for talent identification and nurturing, so having an opportunity to host such should also play a huge role in motivating more youngsters out there into football.”
