BY DANIEL NHAKANISO IN CAIRO
Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambga says he wants his team to create more scoring opportunities upfront after succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to hosts Egypt in their opening match of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, which kicked off here on Friday night.
The Warriors were looking to get their campaign off in style by upstaging the Pharaohs in their own backyard after a spectacular opening ceremony, but despite putting on a good show at the Cairo International Stadium, they were beaten by the hosts, courtesy of Turkey-based forward Ibrahim Trezeguet’s goal five minutes before halftime.
Warriors’ goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda had himself a fine outing, overcoming a knock in the second half to make a number of key saves, while there were also solid performances from left-back Devine Lunga and midfielder Marvelous Nakamba.
Although Chidzambga expressed his satisfaction over the way his team overcame a nervy start to put on a good show, he felt his charges created very few scoring opportunities upfront where China-based striker Nyasha Mushekwi failed to stamp his authority, yet again in Warriors colours on the big stage.
Warriors captain Knowledge Musona also had a subdued performance by his own standards, while Khama Billiat appeared to fight a lone battle upfront.
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“I think basically what we need to do going into the next match is to work on our attack, so that we create those scoring chances,” Chidzambga told reporters during the post-match press conference.
“We didn’t create enough scoring chances to win the match and we just have to work in our attacking third to create the chances and hopefully, we are going to do that in the next game.”
Friday’s result put Egypt top of Group A, also consisting of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, who played each other yesterday.
It also puts Egypt in a strong position to advance to the next round, while the Warriors need to win their remaining two matches against Uganda and DR Congo on Wednesday and Sunday respectively to have a chance of progressing for the first time. The top two spots of each of the six groups will advance automatically, as well as the top four third-placed teams also progressing to the knockout rounds.
Chidzambga said he was encouraged by his team’s second half performance where they dominated possession to silence the boisterous home crowd and hopes they can carry the momentum into the next game.
“As the game went on, we came in gradually up until we conceded a goal towards the end of the first half. In the second half, I think, we came into the game,” he said.
“We didn’t play well in our attacking third; we created very few chances to win the match and I think we had contained the Egyptians in the second half.
“However, well done to the Egyptian team and tough luck to Zimbabwe. I just hope we will do well in the next game.”
The Warriors’ good performance in Cairo also earned them praises from Egypt’s Mexican coach Javier Aguirre. “As their coach just said, I think they played very well, especially in the second half,” Aguirre said.
“At the beginning, we started really strong. We had a couple of very good chances and finally we scored towards the end of the first half.
“After that, the second half was very strange. We had the ball and we had a couple of chances on the counter attack with Salah and they also had two or three shots on goal, which were very dangerous.
Aguirre added: “I’m happy we collected the three points, but I also would like to congratulate the Zimbabwe team, they have a very good team. They’re very organised and hopefully they will be a very good opponent for the next two games.”
