ZIMBABWE……(1)3 MAURITIUS…..(1)1
Zimbabwe win 7-1 on aggregate
PRINCE Dube ran riot to hit a treble as the Warriors marched on to the next phase of the African Nations Championships final qualifiers when they saw off a youthful Mauritius side in a second round second leg tie at Barbourfields Stadium yesterday.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
The Warriors will meet Lesotho in the final qualifier in September after Likuena also bundled out South Africa’s Bafana Bafana following a 3-0 win at Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg in the second leg to sail through by a 6-2 scoreline.
The Warriors came back from behind after the Indian Ocean islanders gave them an early scare with a goal in the fourth minute by Jean Aristide Andrew.
That goal was cancelled by Dube, who packed in a grounder in the 15th minute from outside the penalty box leaving goalkeeper Louis Christophel motionless.
Dube got his second in the 67th minute, nodding the ball past Christophel from a Xolani Ndlovu corner-kick before finishing off the visitors seven minutes before full time with a solo run from his own half shrugging off challenges from the Mauritian defenders before slotting the ball past an advancing Christophel.
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Warriors interim coach Rahman Gumbo said the writing was always on the wall after they clobbered Mauritius 4-0 away last Monday in the first leg.
“It was a done deal. There was a bit of complacency on our guys after the away win. But it was a fair result for the local-based players, who are the future of the Warriors’ squad. I wanted to give every player a chance and we will keep on changing until we get the right combination. There are some players who gave a good account of themselves,” Gumbo said.
The Warriors started off with two holding midfielders Nqobizitha Masuku and Kelvin Madzongwe against Mauritius, who appeared not to be a threat at all.
The visitors’ assistant coach Kersley Levrai said they are building a squad for the future.
“We played against a good Zimbabwe team playing against my kids. Most of them are 17-year-olds. We are preparing for the future. We needed this kind of opposition so as to improve. Congratulations to Zimbabwe and hopefully they go past the next round,” Levrai said.
Phineas Bamusi also played a blinder on the right wing for Zimbabwe with Leeroy Mavunga also in good form, while Never Tigere started off well and fizzled out towards the end of the first half.
Teams
Zimbabwe: A Sibanda, I Nekati, X Ndlovu, P Jaure, P Muduhwa, N Masuku, P Bamusi (E Katema 68′), K Madzongwe (R Kawondera 76′), P Dube, N Tigere (C Augusto 50′), L Mavunga
Mauritius: L Christophel, E Foolchard (Y Dupre 66′), J Sophie, J Francois, J Gentic, J Rossety, J Aristide Andrew, J Lucca (J Aristide David 55′), L Rouge, L Phlibert, L Micazar
