A 10-man Warriors side thumped Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the first of the back to back qualifiers in Kinshasa yesterday.
Despite, losing skipper Knowledge Musona to a red card, Sunday Chiadzambwa’s Mighty men managed to win an Africa Cup of Nations qualification thriller.
The well equipped Warriors made history by becoming the first team to beat the DRC at home in four years, since they lost 2 – 1 to Ivory Coast back in 2014.
The hosts dominated the opening minutes, forcing the Warriors to play more defensive as they drew every man back into their half. The first real chance of the game came on the quarter hour mark when Cedric Bakambu’s header was tipped over by George Chigova.
Zimbabwe, nonetheless, took the lead against the flow of play in the 21st minute when Pfumbidzai finished off Khama Billiat’s freekick.
The victory put Zimbabwe in good stead for qualification to the Cameroon finals as they lead the group with seven points from three matches.
Should Zimbabwe complete a double over the DRC in Tuesday night’s encounter they will put one foot at the finals.
Zimbabwe’s first change was the 58th minute like-for-like swap that saw Nakamba making way for Orlando Pirates utility man Marshal Munetsi.
Nakamba, who has just returned from a knee injury, appeared to be running out of steam, and with the DRC pressing for an equaliser the change kept Zimbabwe’s energy up for the long haul.
As the DRC piled the pressure, it was instead Musona who produced a skipper’s moment of magic on 69 minutes, weaving his way past a cluster of defenders to slot home.
Teams:
DRC: A. Mossi, C. Mbemba, I. Mpeko, M. Tisserand, A. Chadrack, F. Ngoma, J. Botaka (Y Bolasie 53’), C. Luvindama, C. Bakambu, G. Kakuta, A. Masuaku.
Zimbabwe: G. Chigova, T. Darikwa, R. Pfumbidzai, T. Hadebe, A. Mudimu, D. Phiri, M. Nakamba (M Munetsi 58’), T. Kutinyu, K. Musona, K. Billiat, K. Mutizwa (T Dzvukamanja 72′).
