Warriors from heaven

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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor—

THEY arrived as poor lambs being driven into a slaughter chamber but, after an inspired display full of both style and spirit on Sunday, the Warriors are being showered with lavish praise with some pundits saying they could write the Cinderella tale of the 2017 AFCON finals.

The Warriors surprised the highly-rated Algerians with lightning quick breaks, with the irresistible Khama Billiat turning on a blinder that was a throwback to the golden days when Peter Ndlovu used to lead the team with distinction, and – with a little bit of luck – could have easily won their Group B showdown in the Gabonese city of Franceville.

The 26-year-old Billiat, playing with both pace and artistry that was credit to his growing profile as the best footballer still plying his trade in Africa, was virtually unplayable on a night when he reminded those who snubbed him for the award given to the best player based on the continent of the shortcomings of their decision.

He could have scored the goal of the tournament, so far, in the first half when he latched on to a clearance and connected, first time, a volley of incredible purity, from distance, the technique giving the ball the swerve it needed in its search for its target only for the Algerian ‘keeper Rais M’Bholi to pull off a spectacular save.

The retreating goalminder timed his dive to perfection and just got a finger-tip touch to the ball, directing it against his left upright, to complete a world-class save and deny the Zimbabweans the opener their courage and adventure, in the opening minutes of that showdown, merited.

And, in the second half, M’Bholi, who plays his club football in the Turkish top-flight league, once again came to the rescue of his side when he flung himself to his left and managed to just touch Billiat’s shot, from close range, out for a corner, after the Zimbabwean forward had danced his way past the Desert Foxes’ defence.

Cuthbert Malajila then missed a sitter, after his predatory instincts helped him steal the ball from an Algerian defender but, after charging into the box and with the ‘keeper at his mercy, he shot low and straight at M’Bholi who saved with his leg.

Had Malajila, who came in as a substitute, raised his head, he would have seen that Kuda Mahachi, scorer of the Warriors’ first goal, was alone in acres of space to his right and spreading the ball to the Golden Arrows man would have been a better option given that the angle had become a little tight for him to squeeze the ball home.

The Warriors, who lost their talisman Knowledge Musona to a hamstring strain just a few minutes into the battle, showed great character to stand toe-to-toe with the Algerians, refusing to be buried when Riyad Mahrez curled the Desert Foxes into the lead, and hitting back to take the lead in the first half.

But Callisto Pasuwa’s men decided to stay very deep, in the second half, against a dangerous opponent led by the slippery Mahrez and were duly punished in the final eight minutes when the Algerians scored from a break with young ‘keeper Tatenda Mukuruva being beaten by the bounce of a ball he would have saved.

However, for the Warriors to restrict Algeria to just two goals was in itself an achievement given the Desert Foxes had scored 25 goals in the qualifying campaign, the best by a distance, destroying Ethiopia 7-1, hammering Lesotho 6-0 and thrashing the Seychelles 4-0 for a healthy goal difference of plus 20, the best in the qualifiers.

Tunisia and the DRC, who scored 16 goals in the qualifying matches, were the second to goal-scorers, scoring nine goals fewer than the marauding Algerians.

But, to his credit, Callisto Pasuwa found a way to suffocate and frustrate the Desert Foxes, crippling their supply lines with skipper Willard Katsande turning on a great show in midfield where he received good support from Danny Phiri. And, even though the Warriors could have won the match, the fact that they managed to give as much as they got against the Algerians, has turned them into box-office attractions around the world and former Bafana Bafana World Cup ‘keeper Andre Arendse, who is a pundit on SuperSport, said they were his dark horses for the tournament.

“Zimbabwe are now officially my dark horses for the tournament,” he said on SuperSport yesterday.

And he wasn’t the only one showering the Warriors with praise.

Former Bafana Bafana striker, Benni McCarthy, who won the Golden Boot at the 1998 Nations Cup finals in Burkina Faso, also hailed the Warriors.

“Offensively, they were phenomenal,” the UEFA Champions League winner said yesterday on SuperSport.

“Zimbabwe made them (Algeria) look like an average, ordinary team for me.

“The skill, the pace made Algeria (uncomfortable) and they were very unfortunate not to win. I wanted them to win because most of their players are from the South African Premiership.”

The former Porto forward said the Warriors were providing a good advertisement for the standards of Super Diski which produced the winning team in the CAF Champions League last year. Former Ugandan international David Obua, who plays for Scottish Premiership side Hearts and is a pundit on SuperSport, said the Zimbabweans were “players you pay for to watch,” while Carol Tshabalala, the SuperSport anchor, was full of praise for the way the Warriors conducted their business on Sunday night.

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