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SOS . . . Matthew Rusike has been drafted into the Warriors fold

Petros Kausiyo in DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania—
IAN Gorowa has overlooked Willard Katsande and Kingston Nkhatha but has reached out to five others — Ovidy Karuru, Costa Nhamoinesu, Carlington Nyadombo, Edward Sadomba and Matthew Rusike — ahead of the make-or-break Nations Cup qualifier against Tanzania in Harare in 12 days time.

Gorowa is also keeping a close watch on Khama Billiat, who is battling for full fitness after a period on the sidelines through injury, and while chances are very slim that Knowledge Musona will be available, in time for the Tanzania game, the door hasn’t been closed forever on the talisman.

Stung by his team’s shock defeat by Tanzania here on Sunday, Gorowa has sent a plea to Zifa and the Premier Soccer League to postpone the top-flight games at the weekend and allow his charges a longer training camp.

Although he was putting on a brave face after the game, Gorowa was not amused by the lacklustre show from his Warriors as they crashed to a depressing 0-1 defeat at the hands of the Taifa Stars at the National Stadium here on Sunday.

The Warriors managed just three shots on target in the match and never fully recovered to cancel John Bocco’s 13th minute goal for the hosts.
Tanzania had two shots on target and one of them was their goal while they also had only two corners all game.

The Taifa Stars, playing a first competitive game under their Dutch coach Mart Nooji, held out for a famous win that has left the East Africans confident that they could advance to the second round.

Gorowa, speaking shortly before the Warriors returned home, said he asked Zifa to liaise with the PSL with the hope of having the Premiership games scheduled for the weekend postponed so that the national team could have more than five days of uninterrupted camp.

It was, however, not immediately clear whether the PSL, who cancelled league fixtures last weekend because of the national team’s commitments, will grant another postponement.

Gorowa also revealed that they would be a few additions to the squad but said the home game against the Taifa Stars would not feature either Katsande or Kingston Nkhatha, whose controversial withdrawal from the squad that went to Tanzania remained a big contentious point.

The coach had included Nhamoinesu, Nyadombo, Sadomba and Karuru but Rusike, who plays for Kaizer Chiefs, is a new addition to the Nations Cup squad.

Sadomba and Karuru were not available for the trip to Tanzania because of club commitments while Nyadombo and Nhamoinesu were nursing injuries.

Injuries also resulted in the key duo of Khama Billiat and Knowledge Musona missing on the trip to Tanzania and the Warriors will be hoping that both players would have recovered in time for the return leg but the latter has been long-term casualty.

“I think we just have to work extra hard and be in the kind of condition that will help us to get a result,” said Gorowa.
“So, we are hoping that after the midweek games, the PSL can agree to cancel the weekend matches so that we have more time to try and rectify the mistakes and the weaknesses we have seen from this game.

“I thought that in as much as we did well we were too slow and always second to the ball and we cannot afford to play like that in Harare.
“We will look at the performance again and which areas we need to perfect on but I was also happy for young Marshall Mudehwe, we gave him a chance and he did well we he came on.

“But we were not as sharp as I want us to be and obviously after this defeat we have to settle this game in Harare and it not going to be easy.’
Dynamos midfielder Stephen Alimenda also fought a lone battle in midfield on a day when the normally reliable Danny Phiri was off colour, Peter Moyo was never in the game and Kuda Mahachi also had a quiet afternoon.

FC Platinum winger Mudehwe made his Warriors debut after coming on as a late substitute for Mpumalanga Black Aces man Tendai Ndoro.
Ndoro thought he had grabbed a first half equaliser for the Warriors when his angled shot struck from the byline squeezed its way past Taifa Stars goalkeeper Deogratis Munish and crossed the goal line.

Although hosts skipper Nadir Haroub made some desperate effort to clear the ball well after it had crossed the goal line, Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey awarded a goal kick to the Taifa Stars after adjudging that Ndoro had strayed beyond the byline when he forced his left footed angled shot.
Television replays, however, showed that ball had not crossed the byline when Ndoro struck and the goal should have stood.

Gorowa refused to be drawn into discussing the referee’s decision and instead acknowledged that his team had played second fiddle to the hosts and would now have to simply turn on the power in Harare or suffer an embarrassing early exit from the 2015 Nations Cup qualification marathon.

The Warriors and their coach should know that if they are to compete among Africa’s best in Morocco next year then they have to find their way past such hurdles as posed by Tanzania in the first round and Mozambique who virtually sealed their place in the second with a 5-0 hammering of international football debutants South Sudan.

But when one of the strikers that Gorowa had brought in to try and overcome the goal-scoring problems they faced during the CHAN tournament, Cuthbert Malajila, finishes the game without a shot on target and his partner Ndoro just one and the whole team’s aggregate shots on target cannot be counted on one hand, then the Warriors know they have a huge task before them.

The Warriors may have done well to finish fourth at the CHAN tournament in South Africa in February but against the Taifa Stars they were largely disjointed and struggled against a Tanzania side inspired by pacy wingers Thomas Ulimwengu and Mrisho Ngasa.

Skipper Partson Jaure and his defence who gave too much room to the Taifa Stars would also have to lift their game as only Eric Chipeta played with some conviction among those entrusted with providing the defensive shield for goalkeeper George Chigova.