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Sports Reporter
EIGHT years after winning a maiden COSAFA Cup on home soil, the Mighty Warriors begin another campaign with a tie against Angola this morning at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

The match kicks off at 10 am.

And the Zimbabwe senior women’s football would be hoping to reach the dizzy heights of 2011 when they piped South Africa to the trophy with a 1-0 victory at Rufaro.

Banyana Banyana have won the COSAFA Cup five times and are seeking to lift it for the third consecutive time.

Zimbabwe’s match against Angola is a tricky one.

The Angolans have been missing from active competitions for some time.

They return to the regional tournament having last featured in 2008 when they hosted COSAFA and reached the final.

Their only other COSAFA appearance was in 2006 where they ended playing Zimbabwe in a two-legged match losing 4-1 on aggregate.

But, according to Mighty Warriors skipper Talent Mandaza, the Angolans remain dark horses.

“We don’t know how they play, we haven’t seen them playing in a long time but we will not make a mistake to underrate them,’’ she said.

“There are no longer any small teams in women’s football.

“However, we are confident of winning the first match which could set us to do well against Mozambique and Eswatini.

“Once we progress from the group we can dream of winning the Cup again.’’

Mandaza, who missed last year’s edition in Port Elizabeth, was part of the victorious Mighty Warriors who won the Cup in 2011.

Then the Mighty Warriors were under the guidance of coach Rosemary Mugadza.

The former skipper is back as the coach of the Under-20 side at their inaugural Under-20 COSAFA Championships at the Nelson Mandela Bay.

Returning forward Rudo Neshamba, who is back after a three-year absence, is expected to get her role back as chief striker and would be assisted by Maud Mafuruse upfront.