GOLDEN CHANCE BLOWN But hope not lost for Warriors yet
FOR the second time in a month, the Warriors have blown a golden chance to seal their place at the 2019 Afcon finals with the latest setback being a demoralising first defeat, in this qualifying campaign, in Liberia on Sunday.
The striking irony of it all is that the game which this group of Warriors dominated the most, in all their five qualifiers, was the one they somehow lost as they fluffed a number of chances to win the battle comfortably.
The contest in Monrovia should have been over in the first half but Tino Kadewere missed some excellent chances while both captain Knowledge Musona and Ovidy Karuru were guilty of taking too long to pull the trigger when through on goal.
As this usually happens in such matches, the Warriors were duly punished for their wastefulness when, moments after Kadewere missed another fine chance, their defence was caught napping and the Liberians scored the goal that made all the difference.
What this means is that a campaign that should have been over in Harare last month, had they beaten DRC in a game that ended in a controversial draw after Knox Mutizwa’s goal was somehow ruled out, will now be decided on the final day next March.
Again, as was the case on Sunday, all the Warriors require is, at least, just a point against Congo-Brazzaville — who have leaked five goals in their two away matches in this campaign — for them to cross the line and make it to Cameroon.
On paper that looks pretty easy but nothing is ever easy in this game and the Warriors will be burdened by the pressure of delivering at home in a match they know a loss will have devastating consequences for their campaign.
With the head-to-head format being used in these qualifiers, a loss for the Warriors would be the end of their campaign because, although they will end with the same number of points as Congo-Brazzaville, the Central Africans will qualify by virtue of having a better record in matches between the two teams.
The other match in Kinshasa between the DRC and Liberia on the same day will not count for anything for the Warriors because all the possible results there — a win for the hosts, a win for the visitors or a draw — will not help our cause should we lose our final game.
A draw in that match in Kinshasa, coupled with a loss for the Warriors at home, means that three teams — Zimbabwe, Congo-Brazzaville and Liberia — will all end on eight points.
Such a scenario will mean that all results against the DRC, who would have finished last in the group, will be thrown away and the Warriors — who took four points from them — will suffer the most as they will plunge into bottom place of the three-team mini-group on four points.
Liberia will lose only two points from backto-back draws against the DRC and they will have six points while Congo-Brazzaville will lose just a pint they picked against their neighbours and will have seven points.
In the event either Liberia or the DRC win that final match in Kinshasa, one of the two teams will join Congo-Brazzaville in Cameroon should the Central Africans win in Harare in March next year.
This means that the only two results, which will not have any disastrous consequences for the Warriors next March, are either a win or a draw for them in their home match against Congo-Brazzaville.
And if they play as well as they did on Sunday, on a very difficult surface, and create and convert half the number of chances that came their way, they should complete the assignment and ensure a happy ending to this campaign and a big outdoor party with their fans.