Sports Reporter
ZIFA high performance committee vice-chairman Gibson Homela has given his vote of confidence on Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa and noted that the former Dynamos gaffer had done his best so far with the national teams despite working under adverse conditions. Homela, a veteran coach who has previously taken charge of the Warriors and his beloved Zimbabwe Saints yesterday gave his verdict of the senior team’s 1-1 draw against Guinea in an African Cup of Nations Group L qualifier at Rufaro last Sunday and felt the hosts had played well.
The Warriors had to fight from behind to snatch a point after seasoned goalkeeper Washington Arubi’s howler gave the visitors a second minute lead before Knowledge Musona’s equaliser ensured there would be a point for Pasuwa’s men. Zimbabwe have the same number of points — four — as the surprise leaders Swaziland after just two rounds of matches in the qualification marathon that will stretch into next year.
The Warriors’ bright start under Pasuwa has given this nation hope that skipper Willard Katsande and his troops could secure only Zimbabwe’s third appearance at the Nations Cup in 35 years of Independence. Homela believes they are on track but wants Pasuwa to identify more creative midfielders in his side and also urged the coach to continue fusing more Under-23 players who can be blended with the more experienced players.
The veteran coach said there was need for resources to be availed to the Warriors and the HPC in order for Zimbabwe to realise the dream of reaching the Gabon Nations Cup tournament.
Homela, who was at Rufaro in the company of fellow HPC member Benedict “Grinder’’ Moyo also outlined some of the shortcomings he said he had observed in the side that faced Guinea at Rufaro.
Homela said the Warriors lacked balance in attack and were devoid of creativity in the midfield following their 1-1 draw with Guinea in a Group L Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifier at Rufaro on Sunday.
He said the Warriors, who played with a double defensive midfield partnership of Chicken Inn’s Danny Phiri and skipper Willard Katsande, needed a playmaker to complement their movement forward as the strikers Nyasha Mushekwi and Cuthbert Malajila suffered from a lack of clean supply of balls.
“When a coach selects his squad, he has in his mind the type and quality of players that fit in his game plan. In this case, his selection was good but I thought we somehow lacked the balance going forward. “The defenders gave a good account of themselves except for some mistakes here and there. I also thought they had instruction from the coach not to venture forward too much. But I look at them as a formidable defensive line.
“Our two defensive linkmen were solid but again there was no movement. In the end our strikers didn’t get enough clean supply of balls,” said Homela. “Personally, I would have loved to see someone like Ronald Chitiyo in that midfield. We needed a player creative enough to get through that middle.
“The coach did well to look for substitutions to buttress that area but I thought it didn’t address the problem well. In fact, I felt some of the substitutions took away the sting from our attack. ”The three guys in the middle Deco, Katsande and Malajila tended to duplicate roles at times and I think that the anchorman’s role should have been confined to one person and the other two should have been link cum strikers so that we would still have more numbers offensively and defensively.
“Versatile midfielders should be able to cause problems for the opposition but it’s a pity that in our Premier League we don’t have the creative midfielders in the mould of Joel Shambo, Ronald Sibanda or Stix Mtizwa and I think it’s a challenge to the PSL teams to look for those creative midfielders around the country
“There’s need for creative midfielder who can constantly supply the clean ball and maybe we should find one.” Homela said Pasuwa has done the best he can under adverse conditions after leading the team to a promising start in the qualifiers.
Zimbabwe beat Malawi 2-1 away in the opening match and are currently second in Group L with four points, same as surprise leaders Swaziland who they face in back-to-back fixtures in March next year. “Our coaches have done well to date. They’ve been working under difficult conditions and personally I think Pasuwa has given his best.
“But each and every game is different. It’s important to understand your opponents as well. It’s a must to have first-hand knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent. “The coaches need support in that area. It’s a must in terms of modern football to spy on your opponents so that you plan well,” said Homela.
Homela said it was important that Pasuwa did not lose sight of the need to have more Under-23 players within his Warriors ranks. “I understand some of the best Under-23 players are in Congo for the African Games but I still feel there is plenty of them of them out there and I would have wanted a few more of them to have been in the squad that played Guinea so that they’re blended with the foreign-based players and I think that worked well for us against Malawi in Blantyre’’.
Homela also maintained that HPC was an organ that was set up to share experiences with the national coach and exchange views with him.