Warriors dream on IAN “Dibango” Gorowa
IAN  “Dibango” Gorowa

IAN “Dibango” Gorowa

Augustine Hwata Senior Sports Reporter
A BUBBLY troop of the Warriors last night left Cape Town, which had been their base for the past two weeks, as they headed to Bloemfontein for their semi-final battle in the African Nations Championship.
Zimbabwe beat Mali 2-1 at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night to make history as the first senior national team to reach the semi-final stages of a major continental football tournament.

Goals by Simba Sithole of How Mine and the lively Kuda Mahachi handed Zimbabwe the victory although Hamidou Sinayako beat Zimbabwean goalkeeper George Chigova with a late headed effort.

Coach Ian Gorowa told journalists that he was happy to progress to the next round although he was a little disappointed that they had conceded a goal, after having kept clean sheets in the first three matches of this tournament.

Zimbabwe drew 0-0 with Morocco and Uganda in the first two Group B matches before Masimba Mambare’s effort gave them a narrow 1-0 win over Burkina Faso in the last pool match.

“I think we probably deserved it (a semi-final slot).
“It was a tough game and it was never easy.
“Mali were very aggressive but I think in the end we deserved to score a little bit of goals.

“So I am happy for the boys. Well done to them and in the end we won this game,” Gorowa said after Saturday night’s match against Mali.
In the opening three group matches, the Warriors had managed just one goal although their defence was never breached.

“We should not have conceded that goal (against Mali). We said we wanted to keep our defence  (record) intact and not concede goals but I am glad that at least we scored two goals which were very important.

“We could have scored more goals, but I am just happy that this is a knockout stage now and whatever comes, we have to take it. We scored two goals and we are through to the semi-finals,” said Gorowa.

But as the Zimbabwe team left the Mother City last night, Warriors manager Shariff Mussa was confident that they will return to Cape Town on Thursday to focus on the final.

“We are going to Bloemfontein where we are playing in the semi-final but I hope that we should be coming back to Cape Town to play in the final,” said Mussa yesterday.

Mussa said Zimbabwe’ current fine run at the tournament has boosted confidence among their players who now believe that they can go all the way and lift the trophy.

“We should be picking up from where we left in the quarter-finals. The next round of matches are getting tougher and tougher.
“So we should remain focused on the job at hand and work on improving in some areas,” said Mussa.

Speaking on the eve of their match against Mali, Warriors coach Gorowa had said their new target was to play in the final and Mussa is happy that they remain on course.

“The aim is to get to the final and hopefully win it. All the guys are bubbling with confidence and we hope to get the desired result in the semi-final and return to Cape Town,” said Mussa.

Zimbabwe have been enjoying massive support from Cape Town, moreso, after hosts South Africa were knocked out of the tournament.
“The support had been excellent and the fans have really spurred the boys,” said Mussa.

Mussa also believed that it was matter of time before Mahachi registered a goal as he had been one of the outstanding players for the Warriors because of his fancy hairstyle and mazy runs on the wings.

“It was a just a matter of time before he had scored. He had been playing well and surely he deserved the goal and I am sure it will build up his confidence in the next match,” said Mussa.

 

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey