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Caroline Magenga Sports Reporter
MIGHTY Warriors stand-in coach Langton Giwa has promised to give Banyana Banyana a good run in their friendly international at Rufaro this afternoon.
The match will kick off at 3pm.

Giwa will field a relatively youthful team hoping that it can give a good impression in a week dominated by damaging headlines coming out of women football.

The attack on a referee by some footballers, who have since been arrested, has been a huge talking point in this country.

The arrival of the South Africans gives this game a chance to turn the focus on matters that come from the field of play.

Banyana Banyana are preparing for the Africa Women Championships in Namibia next month while the Mighty Warriors failed to qualify in a period in which our national football teams have been awful.

“This is not our first encounter with South Africa, we know their weaknesses and we are going to try and capitalise on those tomorrow (today),” said Giwa.

“We have combined our senior players and Under-20s, a tactic that you will notice South Africa have also adopted.

“Morale is high in the camp and the girls are eager to prove to Banyana and the crowd that even though they failed to qualify for the AWC in Namibia, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

“So I urge people to come in their numbers to support our girls.”

Banyana Banyana coach Vera Pauw commended the Mighty Warriors as worthy opponents but is confident her side will prevail.

The last time the teams met, the match ended in a 2-2 stalemate in South Africa in April.

“It’s a really big game for us, we are really up for it. Zimbabwe made it incredibly difficult for us in our previous game two months back as they put us under pressure,” said Pauw.

“So, we really wanted to play them again because they give us the right challenge.

“In terms of preparedness we are getting there, we will only be able to measure our improvement or preparedness after the game.

“We want to utilise this game to prepare for the AWC in Namibia and it’s unfortunate for Zimbabwe that they could not qualify.

“But on the same note I would like to commend them for not letting that hold them back, it’s encouraging they are dusting themselves up and moving forward.

“We will be focusing on keeping the ball, scoring and ultimately winning.”