Log out…Warriors coach under fire

By The NewsDay | Jul. 12, 2021 | 4 Min read

THE Cosafa Cup was probably a perfect platform for Warriors coach Zdravko Logarušić to confound his critics, but it has only served to cultivate the doubts over his ability to take the team forward after this limp showing.

BY TERRY MADYAUTA

ZIMBABWE . . . . . . . . . . . 0

NAMIBIA . . . . . . . . . . . (0)2

Two draws in the first two matches of the regional tournament had triggered murmurs of dissent against the Croat and yesterday’s defeat to Namibia amplified calls for his ouster.

The Warriors succumbed 2-0 at the hands of Namibia, ending their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.

This result undoubtedly thrusts Logarušić’s credentials undescrutiny.

His record is awful, with one win in 11 matches since his appointment in 2019.

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The poor performance at Cosafa has brought to the fore a number of questions over team selection and tactics.

Players that have performed in the Chibuku Super Cup were overlooked.

Among the players that were left out are FC Platinum pair of Silas Songani and Rodwell Chinyengetere, Denver Mukamba and Nigel Makumbe of Ngezi Platinum and Caps United’s Ishmeal Wadi, who has scored four goals in the Chibuku Super Cup so far.

The inclusion of Delic Murimba at the eleventh hour following the pulling out of Evans Rusike and Knox Mutizwa, has also been a major talking point, especially that Murimba and his partner Farau Matare failed to fire.

Murimba only managed one goal during the first round of the Chibuku Super Cup, while the likes of Songani, Wadi and Mukamba have been major driving forces for their respective teams since the resumption of football.

Even the omission of midfielders that include Gerald Takwara, Kelvin Madzongwe, Trevor Mavhunga and Nqobizitha Masuku has been questionable.

Even the usually reliable and menacing Ovidy Karuru has been a pale shadow of himself in this tourney.

Yesterday, the Warriors came into the match needing an outright win to at least keep hopes of progressing to the semi-finals alive ahead of the last Group B match against guest nation, Senegal.

Their first half was a lot better compared to the way they applied themselves in the first two matches.

But the Warriors crumbled like a deck of cards when least expected, conceding two silly goals.

First, it was Qadr Amini who turned into his own nets, deflecting Elmo Kambindu’s hapless strike beyond goalie Washington Arubi on the 70th minute.

Logarušić reacted and immediately pulled out Amini for Murimba, as if to add more firepower to his arsenal.

But he instantly regretted that decision after his defence line succumbed to a weak onslaught from Namibia, with Kambindu being picked unmarked in the box, before comfortably darting the ball beyond a diving Arubi.

However, despite the defeat, Logarušić is content with the experience which some of the novices are getting.

“It was a good experience for our youngsters. They are learning lessons and we hope they will improve in the next match against Senegal,”he said.

“We could have done better as a team, but we lost concentration in the final stages of the match.”

Surprisingly, he believes the Warriors still have a chance to gatecrash into the quarter-finals with a win against Senegal tomorrow.

“I am sad about the defeat, but I am still happy about the performance of the players.

“In the first half, we pressed hard, but unfortunately failed to get on target and in the second, we made mistakes at the back and conceded,” he added.

“I am looking at the bigger picture, which is the development of the players and I am impressed with the performance of the young players.

“We are looking forward to the next game against Senegal. You just have to believe.

“This is Africa, anything is possible. We just need to continue believing.”

The Warriors could have done better had they been lethal, especially in the first half.

Blessing Sarupinda almost scored in the 47th minute after being picked unmarked by Richard Hachiro, but the former’s effort went wide.

The Caps United midfielder hit the crossbar with a powerful strike from a free-kick taken just outside the box six minutes later.

But after conceding, even the substitutes which were introduced hardly made any impact, as Namibia rather looked more dangerous in the closing stages of the encounter.

They remain with two points on their tally, while Namibia have a 100% record in the current campaign with six points after two games.

Warriors lineup

W Arubi, L Mucheto, Q Amini (D Murimba72 min), S Nyahwa, C Mavhurume, Jimmy Dzingai, B Musaka( B Banda 77min), B Sarupinda (N Dube 82min), O Karuru, R Hachiro (M Mkolo 82 min), F Matare (A Mbeba 45 min)