IN February 2009 Gilbert Banda led a troop of Warriors to the inaugural edition of the African Nations Championships (Chan) in Ivory Coast.
BY MICHAEL MADYIRA Pooled in Group B, their first match saw Ovidy Karuru and Philip Marufu thrusting them ahead in the first half, only for Ghana to claw back and force a 2-2 draw.
With a point gained, hopes of proceeding to the knockout stages were still there.
In the second match against eventual champions Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Marufu cancelled Tressor Mputu’s lead to settle the match within 30 minutes of play.
Hopes of a quarterfinal berth were still there with Libya standing in their way.
But no goals came as Libya restricted Sunday Chidzambwa’s charges to a 0-0 draw.
It was a smart record on paper for the Warriors who returned home undefeated.
But it counted for nothing as their three points did not carry them past the group stages
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Now, another centre back Partson Jaure is leading a troop of Warriors that have found themselves trapped in the 2009 situation.
They have drawn two matches and still harbor hopes of advancing to the knockout stages.
But Burkina Faso stand in their way.
Faced with the prospect of ending the tournament with three draws just like the 2009 crop, Zimbabwe play Burkina Faso tomorrow in a crucial match where victory is needed.
Just like in 2009, the Warriors are in Group B where their opponents include North and West Africans.
In the 2011 edition they were again in Group B and failed to march past the group stages in a tournament they only managed two goals.
But this time around they have toiled for 180 minutes and goals have been elusive.
The crisis of a reliable striker in the domestic league has once against come into focus as the goal-drought has been attributed to the frontmen’s lack of potency.
Arriving in South Africa with a clean record of no defeat which he still maintains, coach Ian Gorowa has suddenly become the most criticised local football figure of the moment.
His strikers, led by Simba Sithole and Donald Ngoma, have also become victims of denunciation for failing to find the target.
Back-up forward Nelson Maziwisa and midfielder-cum-striker Charles Sibanda have also been firing blanks.
The Warriors are now not at peace with themselves as they hunt the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
Anchoring Group B, Burkina Faso are looking for nothing short of victory to proceed to the next round.
That is what makes Gorowa’s task a difficult one.
