The Warriors qualified for their fourth straight Chan finals after they played out a draw against Lesotho in Maseru yesterday.
Lesotho . . . . . . . . .(0)(1)
Zimbabwe . . . . . . .(1) 1
Dynamos striker Roderick Mutuma scored an important goal for Zimbabwe in the first half which might have killed off the contest and Lesotho’s second half equalizer from the penalty spot was not enough to stop Kalisto Pasuwa’s men from progressing to the finals that will be played in Rwanda next year.
Having won the first leg 3-1 in Bulawayo last week Zimbabwe had a somewhat easy task of putting this tie to bed against the Crocodiles.
They could have done it in better style had Blessing Moyo not missed a second half penalty with the game tied at 1-1.
But no one will care about that since the team booked their place comfortably despite Lesotho threatening a second half comeback.
Mutuma, who scored two goals in the first leg, made sure it was a comfortable afternoon for the Warriors when he scored ten minutes before half time to flatten the hosts.
With the aggregate at 4-1 it was difficult for Lesotho who needed to score four goals without reply for them to knock out Zimbabwe out of the tournament.
Lesotho coach Seephephe Matete had expressed confidence that his team would advance to the finals with ease, but his methods did not help his side.
He was hoping that his team would benefit from a home advantage but by half time his charges had a mountain to climb.
Zimbabwe will have another flirtation with the tournament finals having finished fourth in the last edition that was played in South Africa when they were coached by Ian Gorowa.
Pasuwa, who was assistant to Gorowa then, might have learnt a few lessons from the last edition which will help his team when they return to the continent’s second tier tournament.
Businessman Philip Chiyangwa who is bidding for the Zifa presidency promised to reward the Warriors if they made it to the finals.
He gave the team $10 000 last week and they will be looking forward to getting more after their achievements.
- Newsday Zimbabwe