HOSTS Zimbabwe qualified for the quarter finals of the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup on a sun drenched afternoon of nail-biting tension.The high drama at Rufaro Stadium ended with what had appeared certain victory by Lesotho proving to be a tall order as a ten man Mauritius, cheered on by a small crowd that turned out for the match produced a fabulous defensive display to restrict the Crocodiles to a narrow 1-0 win for Zimbabwe to seal a ticket to the last eight of the tournament.
Lesotho needed to win by at least four goals to pip Zimbabwe to the sole ticket to the quarter-finals.
Zimbabwe, who had a flying start to the tournament after beating Mauritius 3-0 in their opening match of Group A had surrendered the initiative to Lesotho after the two teams had settled for a 2-2 draw in the penultimate group.
The result saw Zimbabwe losing control of a group which they had dominated from the start. And, as they have so often done, they needed a helping hand from Mauritius to advance to the last eight of the tournament. And Mauritius who had substitute Jonathan Patrick Ernest sent off following a vicious tackle on a Lesotho player heeded the call by restricting the Crocodiles to a narrow victory. Mothoane Bokang scored the only goal of the match from a free-kick in referee’s optional time.
And most Zimbabwean fans reacted to the Warriors’ qualification to the quarter finals as an unexpected but welcome act of providence as qualification seemed to have slipped through their fingers.
“God made the miracle” said one soccer fan.
Another Zimbabwean fan Taurai Mangwiro was more explicit: “God was the 12the man.” In 2003, Zimbabwe also needed a helping hand from Gabon to qualify for their maiden Nations Cup finals in Tunisia the following year.
Post published in: Football