Zimbabwe fall to Angola

THE Young Warriors ended their COSAFA Under-17 Championships empty-handed when they fell to a third straight defeat in Mauritius yesterday.

The Zimbabweans crashed to a 1-2 loss at the hands of Angola in a Group C match.

It meant the Young Warriors lost all their matches at the tournament.

The team were coming from a 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Malawi.

Yesterday, the Young Warriors were down 0-2 at the break and there were concerns they would slump to another big defeat.

However, the Zimbabweans found a way to fight back in the second half and reduced the arrears with a goal in that period.

The Young Warriors have found the going tough at the tournament in recent years.

This has sparked a huge outcry in domestic football, with many questioning the pedigree of some of the coaches who are being handed the responsibility to take charge of the team.

Others have questioned the chaotic manner in which the team is selected, amid allegations that coaches have become biased and were not picking the best players for the tournament.

Rodwell Dhlakama, the most successful coach with these Young Warriors, said it was questionable how a school like Pamushana, which has been doing well by dominating the Copa Coca-Cola schools tournament, did not have a player in the team.

Some England-based coaches have also raised the red flag after their attempts to bring in some Zimbabwean players to feature in the team were rejected by the coaches.

The Young Warriors have now lost their last six matches at the tournament in the past two years.

Angola Swaziland Malawi Zimbabwe

2 2 2 2

2 2 1 0

3 0 0 0

0 1 2 3

7 4 5 2

1 6 2 8

9 6 3 0