Sixteen games, ONE win, TEN losses

Warriors decline keeps gathering pace

THE Warriors’ worst year in their history came to a fittingly miserable end as they crashed out of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers yesterday with a shocking lifeless show, which was as amateurish as it was nightmarish.

There were times, at the National Sports Stadium yesterday, when they appeared more like Whawha, who have struggled in their first dance in the domestic Premiership, than the Warriors.

Given the way both teams have been struggling, it’s certain that their bond is not only found in the letter (W), on which their identities are built.

It’s also very likely that even if they had played the Midlands strugglers, who leaked five goals in their last Chibuku Super Cup match to Ngezi Platinum Stars, the Warriors could have struggled to score yesterday.

Zdravko Logarusic, the hapless coach who started this poor run before being dismissed, must even be laughing at us right now, after the Warriors turned on one of their worst displays, yesterday.

While they had showed some life, in a 1-3 defeat in Ghana last Saturday, this was a huge step backwards for the team, which is so low in confidence, they now look like a poor imitation of themselves.

They now resemble a bunch of footballers who have been fooled they are the game’s Father Christmas, and the season of giving is already upon us with the way they have been donating points.

Yesterday, it was as bad as it can ever get for them, as they looked like a disjointed unit, who struggled to find any rhythm, in a performance that was way below what is expected from them, even on their worst days.

Somehow, as if fate wanted to punish them heavily for pretending to be fighting,when they were just roaming around the field, the goal they conceded came from a schoolboy blunder committed by their nervous goalkeeper, Talbert Sumba.

The shot from Thomas Partey was on target but straight at Shumba who, somehow, let it whistle past him to the shock of even his teammates.

It proved the defining moment of a game, low on quality and long on shadow boxing, in which, once again, the fine showing from young Jordan Zemura, provided the only light to the gloom.

Somehow, the Warriors are yet to score from open play, over 360 minutes, in their four 2022 World Cup qualifiers, in this horror campaign.

Their only consolation goal came from a penalty against the Black Stars in Cape Coast on Saturday when captain Knowledge Musona converted from the spot in a 1-3 defeat.

Frustratingly, the Warriors are yet to score,in their backyard in their last three major assignments, in the AFCON/World Cup qualifiers. They have lost twice and drawn once. A 0-2 home defeat in their final Nations Cup qualifier at the hands of bitter rivals Zambia was dismissed as insignificant, given the Warriors had already secured qualification at the next AFCON finals.

The concerns raised back then that there was humiliation in losing a derby at home, and that winning, in football should be made a habit, were dismissed as misplaced.

After all, the defence counsel argued, the team already had a ticket to Cameroon.

But, seven months later, the Warriors keep losing their way since the euphoria of that victory in Botswana was swiftly tampered with the pain inflicted by a home loss to Zambia. And, they are yet to score at home. They were held to a disappointing goalless draw, by South Africa, in a World Cup qualifier.

Then, the Black Stars arrived at the giant stadium yesterday, and left without their goal being breached, in a 1-0 victory.

The depressing result, which knocked the Warriors out of the race for a place at football’s biggest festival, in Qatar, next year, brought the curtain down, on what has been a horrible year, for the country’s flagship national team.

They have won just one game, in 16 matches, since they were held to a goalless draw by Malawi, in a friendly international, in Blantyre, on October 11, last year.

That was the first match they played, under the guidance of Loga, who was dismissed, 13 games later, with just a victory to show for his time, in charge of the team.

The changes in the technical team brought in Norman Mapeza, who was handed the challenge to try and revive a team, which had been on its deathbed, for some time now.

But, two games into Mapeza’s fourth dance, with the Warriors, the team’s struggles continue. And, yesterday, their World Cup campaign, came to an end, even though there are still two more games to play, in the qualifiers in their group.

As fate would have it, the final rites were read by the Black Stars on exactly the same day, and the same month, last year, when Loga returned to Harare, from the trip to Malawi, to begin the post-mortem of his first game, in charge of the team.

During their poor run, over 12 months, the Warriors have played 16 games, including one friendly international against the Flames, won just once, lost 10 and drew five games.

They have picked just EIGHT points, from a possible 48, representing a failure rate of 16,66 percent. Their FIVE draws have come against Malawi (twice), South Africa, Mozambique and Algeria, in a game in which they had to find a way back from the dead, with Prince Dube scrambling a last-gasp equaliser, at the giant stadium.

They have failed to score in NINE of those matches, against Malawi, in that friendly, Ghana, in their loss yesterday, Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Mali and Cameroon.

Only TWICE, against Malawi, in a 2-2 draw at the COSAFA Cup, and against Algeria, in that 2-2 draw, at the giant stadium, did the misfiring Warriors find a way, to score more than once, in a game.

They have conceded more than two goals, in

THREE matches, in defeats at the hands of Algeria (1-3, AFCON qualifier); Ghana (1-3, World Cup qualifier) and Burkina Faso (1-3, CHAN finals). As if they have become a cursed team, all the games, in which they conceded more than two goals, in the Nations Cup/World Cup/ CHAN matches, ended in a similar defeat (1-3), for the Warriors.

In more ways than one, they don’t really look like Warriors anymore.

WARRIORS WORST YEAR (11/10/20 – 12/10/21) Malawi 0, Zimbabwe 0 (friendly) Algeria 3, Zimbabwe 1 ( AFCON qualifier) Zimbabwe 2, Algeria 2 ( AFCON qualifier) Cameroon 1, Zimbabwe 0 ( CHAN finals) Burkina Faso 3, Zimbabwe 1 ( CHAN finals) Mali 1, Zimbabwe 0 ( CHAN finals) Botswana 1, Zimbabwe 0 ( AFCON qualifier) Zimbabwe 0, Zambia 2 ( AFCON qualifier) Mozambique 0, Zimbabwe 0 ( COSAFA) Malawi 2, Zimbabwe 2 ( COSAFA) Namibia 2, Zimbabwe 0 ( COSAFA) Senegal 2, Zimbabwe 1 ( COSAFA) Zimbabwe 0, South Africa 0 ( World Cup qualifier) Ethiopia 1, Zimbabwe 0 ( World Cup qualifier) Ghana 3, Zimbabwe 1 ( World Cup qualifier) Zimbabwe 0, Ghana 1 ( World Cup qualifier)