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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
MIGHTY Warriors assistant coach Yohannes Chikaola says there was need for the team to have adequate time of preparations ahead of their next assignment in the Olympic Games qualifiers in July.

Zimbabwe, who started their campaign in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round, progressed to the third round when they emerged winners against Zambia on the away goals rule.

The tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Zimbabwe went down 1-2 in Lusaka in the first leg before they turned the tables on Zambia on Sunday when they won 1-0.

Chikaola said they were happy they managed to progress to the third round of the qualifiers but noted there was need to start preparations early for the forthcoming assignment.

“We recommend that we have more days in camp, prepare more and work more on our sprints, on alertness and work on reaction and agility more so that we can match our opponents.

“We need to work on our physical fitness.

“In Zambia we managed to play well but they were on top of us in terms of pace, movement, agility, speed and reaction but we managed to get an away goal that was crucial for us.

“We worked on our aggression, speed and agility so we managed to match them and we outclassed them,” said Chikaola.

Sport, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister, Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga, who watched the match and is a keen supporter of the team, admitted the team did not have enough time in camp.

“I actually i think the preparations have been getting better compared to the previous years, things are slightly changing.

“And, yes, there was very little time for preparation but I think the conditions under which the girls are preparing are improving.

“So we look forward to assisting them in any way we can as the ministry through our SRC.

“We also want to bring in people on board to continue helping the girls so that the environment continues to be positive for them to prepare for the games.

“As a ministry it is our responsibility to make sure the team is funded where we are supposed to fund so we will do our best to make sure that we meet our end of the bargain.