ZIMBABWE . . . . . . . . . . . 0
KENYA . . . . . . . . . . . . (0) 2
WARRIORS interim coach Jairosi Tapera remains proud of his team despite a shock exit from the Cosafa Cup following a demoralising defeat to Kenya in their final pool game at Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday.
Zimbabwe led the group with six points going into the final round of matches and needed to avoid a defeat against Kenya to progress to the semifinals of the tournament.
They looked well on course after holding off the east-African nation in the first half.
It was the Warriors who played well for the larger part of that first stanza and with a bit of luck, they could have scored a goal in the 42nd minute when McKinnon Mushore intercepted a clearance from Kenya goalkeeper Dolph Owino, but his attempt to find teammate Takunda Benhura with a cutback which was cleared to safety.
Tapera’s men somehow collapsed in the second half.
A defensive lapse from the Warriors allowed man of the match Austine Otieno to run and meet a through ball in the 53rd minute before firing past goalkeeper Raphael Pitisi with an angled first time shot.
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Zimbabwe had over 30 minutes to respond and could have equalised, but substitute Michael Tapera’s tantalising cross from the right found no takers.
All hopes for a comeback evaporated in the 73rd minute when captain Godknows Murwira allowed a high ball from the midfield to bounce in front of him. The defender was outmuscled by Benson Ochieng, who made no mistake from inside the box.
The Warriors threw numbers forward seeking for a consolation in the later stages of the game, which could have tilted things in their favour in the group, but Kenya defended resolutely.
In the end, Zimbabwe crumbled from top of Group B before the match to third as three teams ended tied on six points and had to be separated by goal difference.
Comoros, who beat Zambia 1-0 yesterday, finished top and automatically qualified to the semifinals as group leaders, while Kenya will have to wait for today’s Group C matches to see if they go through as the best runner-up.
Defending champions Zambia went home with zero points.
Tapera said he was disappointed that his team let the semifinal ticket slip through their fingers, but is proud of the boys’ performances throughout the tournament.
“I can’t say I am proud of the six points that we got because there was a chance for us to move forward,” Tapera said.
“But I am proud of the performance of the boys. Most of these guys, it was their first time to play in an international competition and they showed a lot of skill and organisation, which I feel if given an opportunity, they can graduate to the next level.
“Apart from the result, I’m proud of the boys. They showed a lot of courage and going forward I am sure we will have a stable national team.”
Commenting on the game, the Manica Diamonds coach said: “It was a tale of two halves. We were not bad in the first half; we were so much organised and we were moving around the ball.
“We got some chances in the first half which I thought we should have scored. If we had scored those chances, Kenya were going to be desperate and become vulnerable, but they scored first and we became desperate in a way.”
He added: “We tried to change the movements and positions to add some strikers but we were not organised in terms of keeping the ball.”
The Warriors team is expected back home today.
Zimbabwe team:
R Pitisi, M Hativagoni, G Murwira, F Banda, E Jalai, R Hachiro, K Mureremba (J Mutudza, 46’), M Mushore (N Rauzhi, 74’), P Mutimbanyoka (T Meke, 46’), W Mapuwa (M Tapera, 46’), T Benhura
