Warriors Thump Swaziland in AFCON Qualifier

By Perkins Bare

After holding Sihlangu to a 1-1 draw at home, the Warriors capped off the back to back encounters by returning for the second leg a different side as by the end of 90 minutes Swaziland had no idea what had hit them having been hit for 4 to the good. In an African Cup of Nations Qualifiers played out at the National Sports Stadium, the Warriors put themselves up in a strong position to qualify on top of Group L as they beat Swaziland 4-0.
With the first leg having been pitted for Swaziland on Friday with the return leg back in Harare on Monday, the two matches were going to be feisty as Zimbabwe sat joint leaders in their table together with Swaziland on 4 points. If one thing was certain was that the better team between the two was going to break away from the group and set themselves up for a strong contention for a birth at the Afcon 2017 finals to be played in Gabon.

Cautious Approach
Warriors coach went into the first leg with a cautious approach but this almost backfired on them as they were trailing in just two minutes. It then later on took an own goal to level matters which then wrapped up the match as the teams were still tied 1-1 by the end of the 90 minutes. A draw out in Swaziland might have seemed to be an under-performance by the Warriors looking at the mere fact that on paper with the players that we had we were supposed to tuck these two legs away quite comfortably. But then again our boys hadn`t been playing that great and results have been coming out of the grind mill of late which then forced the coach to play it safe which I would agree with for a draw is just as good enough away in this qualification process. What`s important is to then go on and win your home matches in which our boys did.

The 2nd leg started off dull as the Warriors were not really getting the combinations right but by the time we got into the second half they were in the 4th gear. Costa Nhamoinesu kept things tight at the back as Swaziland threatened the warriors in search of that early goal. The scary moment was when they got the ball at the back of the net only to be ruled out for offside. Going forqward the mid as usual was not playing as a unit and it was just Marshall Mudehwe who was charging alone on the right flank. He did however get some support from Hardlife Zvirekwi but they were not really creating that vital supply line as only a few balls got to Nyasha Mushekwi. The 1st half wasn`t really a case of the team playing together but balls were just being pummeled upfront and there was one where Knowledge Musona showed his brilliance, creating a chance out of nowhere which then called on the Swazi keeper to save it from going in.

Inspirational Billiat
The second half started off with Khama Billiat coming in for Marshall Mudehwe and he was exactly that, inspirational. The addition of Billiat changed the complexion of the game completely not so much because of the runs he was making but just the influence he exerted on the field when he came on. Sihlangu`s defence now looked scared as the man they had heard of had just been added and they had no remedy to deal with him.

No sooner or later Marvelous Nakamba set up Kuda Mahachi who was fouled for a penalty in the box. Knowledge Musona stepped to take the penalty and ticked it away in cheeky fashion, sending the keepre the wrong way. Billiat was terrorising the defence on the right flank and he was fouled but the set-up for Musona, though well planned, wasn`t executed well. Soon again Billiat was on the floor again and Musona released a scorcher of a free kick which pulled a brilliant save from the Sihlangu keeper. 
The Warriors gaffer, Callisto Pasuwa then made his second change of the afternoon bringing in Evans Rusike and it was no long before he made it two. This then settled the nerves for the boys as they wee playing moer comfortably and with the crowd on top of their voices the big man, Costa Nhamoinesu stepped up to head it in for the third. At this point the Ngwebu was just left with his mouth wide open as he wondered what was happening to his defence. The Warriors were not yet done as Billiat was switched onto the left flank were he eventually got one of his own in a typical I told you so fashion. From this point on everyone wanted to get a piece of the cake as the players were starting to literally enjoy themselves on the field of play with Musona now a part of the terror attacks on the left flank and Khama delivering that bad karma which had been promised.

How Vital Were The Changes?
Looking at both scoreline from 1-1 to 4-0, the coach really got it spot-on in terms of the changes that he made from the 1st leg going into the 2nd leg. Pasuwa made a total of 5 changes to the team that played in Swaziland as he threw in Hardlife Zvirekwi, Marvelous Nakamba, Nyasha Mushekwi, Marshall Mudehwe and Kuda Mahachi in place of Cuthbert Malajila, Eric Chipeta, Matthew Rusike, Danny `Deco` Phiri and Billiat who was suffering from fatigue as he looked dehydrated and failed to really play his best game in the 1st leg.

Hardlife Zvirekwi and Marvelous Nakamba were indeed spot-on especially Nakamba the lad was on fire in the 1st half as he was able to link up with Marshall Mudehwe another vital addition to the team. Marshall Mudehwe was another spot-on addition as he he terrorised that right flank. He however did not get enough support form the other players and Hardlife Zvirekwi (another change) tried to help him out in creating the chances but then only a few came through for Mushekwi who was let down by the midfield that has been bemoaning the lack of a creative midfielder to create those chances for the guys upfront. As for Kuda Mahachi, the lad has to do something about where his career is headed for it was a disappointing outing for him. He was not as threatening as he can be with the ball and he seemed to be a bit low on confidence even when Billiat came in the two can surely combine well but the chemistry was just not there.

The win now puts the warriors 3 points clear with two games to go in Group L of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers. Next up is Malawi on the 5th of June most likely at the same venue.


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