FROM WELLINGTON TONI IN KITWE, ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE will carry the underdog tag when they clash with Zambia in the Battle of Zambezi final of the Cosafa Castle Cup Zambia 2013 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Kick-off is at 3pm.
With Zimbabwe having been unconvincing in the penalty win over Malawi in the quarter-final last week and the 2-1 over Lesotho in the semi-final on Saturday, there is no doubt Zambia are itching for some form of revenge. The Warriors beat Zambia 3-1 in the last final in 2009 and Chipolopolo coach Hervé Renard has declared that nothing will stop his boys tomorrow.
Alex Ngonga, Bonwell Mwape, Moses Phiri, Kabaso Chongo and skipper Bronson Chama converted their spot-kicks for Zambia as they beat South Africa 5-3 in an energy sapping semi-final on Wednesday night. Lerato Chabangu saw his spot-kick saved by Zambia goalkeeper Danny Munyao while the hosts’ Mukuka Mulenga was named man-of-the-match.
Warriors coach Klaus-Dieter Pagels knows he has to change the tactical approach if Zimbabwe is to stand any chances of rewriting the Cosafa history books – having witnessed a poor performance against Lesotho.
Chicken Inn gunslinger and the leading scorer in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) with 11 goals, Tendai Ndoro, scored twice in a 10-minute spell after the Warriors had gone down 1-0 after just three minutes of play due to poor defending. The national team was found wanting in all departments against a Lesotho side that seemed to struggle with fatigue as this was their fifth game in the tournament.
The Warriors struggled with their own fitness, a situation which had been bemoaned by assistant coach Lloyd Mutasa ahead of the match.
Said Pagels in his post-match review: “We played very badly, but at least we did manage to reach the final. “The defence had problems and we need to sort this out going into the final whether against Zambia or South Africa. “Those two countries have fitter players, very strong compared to us.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“The other problem is that I did not bring my best players here as I was limited to only two players from each team by the PSL. We are in the final now, we will go on and fight.”
Hardlife Zvirekwi was solely missed at right-back as Eric Chipeta was slow on that position and lost his marker most of the time. Lesotho coach Leslie Notsi noticed that and brought in Ramabele Lehlomela in the 37th minute to harass the Hwange defender and within 60 seconds, Chipeta had already received a yellow card as he tried to keep pace with the speedy winger. In central defence, Prosper Matizanadzo could not measure up to the Lesotho strikers and his partner Felix Chindunwe constantly came under serious pressure as he tried to cover up for him.
Matizanadzo was a ball of nerves and if Zvirekwi does not recover by tomorrow, the Zimbabwe defence would be in trouble. Ocean Mushure is just as dangerous as they come in defence – he seems to be more comfortable in attack and the early goal the Warriors conceded was from his side as Chindunwe had already been beaten.
Augustine Mbara, Mushure’s Dynamos teammate or Highlanders Bruce Kangwa could have been better alternatives as they are both good man markers, keep possession and assist in attack only when needed.
In the double defensive link, Masimba Mambare, who does not play that position at his club Highlanders, was more on the attack, leaving Devon Chafa under pressure from the two attacking and mobile midfielders Thapelo Tale and Moleko Katlego, that Lesotho deployed.
“I told Masimba not to go upfront, but he wanted to attack more,” Pagels said. Upfront, Ronald Chitiyo linked up well with Ndoro from the right wing, but Silas Songani was on holiday on the other wing. When Pagels could easily have used Ali Sadiki on that left link, he opted for Nicholas Alifandika, who had just returned from injury and later on Last Chibwiro for Charles Sibanda.
With such tactical awareness lacking, it meant Ndoro was starved of balls and often had to come back into midfield and that wore him down. Lesotho coach Leslie Notsi refused to blame fatigue for the loss. “Yes, you can say fatigue, but no. we wasted many chances after going ahead early. This is a game of football and we have to move from here,” Notsi said.
Zambia coach Hervé Renard believes the cup is theirs for the taking: “There is nothing that can stop us. The boys are ready. Now we are going into the final. The important thing is to win the final, not just to be in the final,” he said in his post-match interview of Wednesday night.
Renard though, admitted that the semi-final win over South Africa was one of the toughest games. “It was really a tough game. I have never played such a tough game. We could not find a lot of scoring chances,” he added.
