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Evans Rusike (right) beats Comoros goalkeeper Said Halifa following a brilliant run on the right, before slotting the ball into the far post as Zimbabwe took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute during Sunday’s CHAN qualifier at Rufaro

RISING Zimbabwe international forward Evans Rusike feels that his goal for the Warriors against Comoros in an African Nations Championship qualifier at Rufaro on Sunday should herald his arrival on the big stage.

Rusike beat Comoros goalkeeper Said Halifa following a brilliant run on the right, before slotting the ball into the far post as Zimbabwe took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute.

A few minutes before his goal, Rusike had missed a glorious chance when his effort was blocked inside the box by a defender.

FC Platinum’s Marshall Mudehwe scored the second goal in the 88th minute as Zimbabwe gained the advantage ahead of the reverse fixture on July 5 in Comoros.

“This was my first goal for the national team,” said the Hwange forward.

“Now I feel great by getting a goal when I earned my fourth cap.

“Definitely, people should be seeing more goals coming from me for the national team.”

Rusike, who is among the 2014 Soccer Stars of the Year, said he was told by coach Callisto Pasuwa to take the Comoros’ defenders head-on.

“The coach told me to take that defender head on.

“I managed to take the defenders and combining well with team-mates and managed to score,” he said.

Rusike believes Zimbabwe should have won the game by a bigger goal margin since they created numerous scoring chances.

“Comoros’ game plan was to sit back and wait for us but they started opening gaps, once we scored that opening goal.

“We went forward a number of times and we should have wrapped the game maybe by a 5-0 or 6-0 margin.

“But this is a game of football and the most important thing was that we managed to win the game,” said Rusike. — Sportszone.