NEESTORIC!. . . Warriors make history

Robson Sharuko

Editor

THE Warriors created a little piece of history for themselves in their 3-1 thrashing of their Namibian namesakes on Monday night in Johannesburg.

Michael Nees and his men turned on the style, in the second half, to blow away their plucky opponents at the Orlando Stadium on Monday night in a 2025 AFCON qualifier.

Walter Musona led the way with a brace, including a beauty and a penalty converted with conviction, as he completed his first double strike for his country, on foreign soil, in either a World Cup or AFCON qualifier. Prince Dube scored the other goal for the Warriors.

But, this wasn’t just about the goal-scorers.

It was also about the supporting cast, led by man-of-the-match Jordan Zemura, who played his best game for his country, and the steady and impressive Andy Rinomhota.

Ahead of the game, a lot of questions had been asked about the lack of productivity in the team’s engine room and there was concern that the strike force lacked the cutting edge.

But, everything appeared to come together for the Warriors, especially in the second half, as they took the game to the Namibians and were rewarded with three goals.

It’s a measure of the progress, under Nees’ guidance, that there is an element of disappointment that the Warriors conceded a goal.

A mistake, in the dying stages of the game, resulted in goalkeeper Washington Arubi being beaten for the first time in the four AFCON qualifiers he has kept goal since Nees took over.

But, the consolation for the Brave Warriors cannot take away the glitter from this beautiful Warriors’ show.

And, along the way, some records fell:

• Nees and his men became the FIRST group of Warriors to score THREE goals in either a World Cup or AFCON qualifier, on foreign soil, since the turn of the millennium.
• They became the first group of Warriors to score THREE goals, in the second half of either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier, on foreign soil, in our 44 years of battles in international football.
• They became the first group of Warriors to score THREE goals on foreign soil, in either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier, since the game’s rules were changed in 1990 and denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity became a red-card offence.
• They became the first group of Warriors to score THREE goals on foreign soil, in either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier, since Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat, who became the rock on which their recent success was built, were born in 1990.
• They became only the second group of Warriors, in more than three decades of battles in international football, to score more than two goals away from home, in either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier.
• They ended a lengthy 35-year wait to score more than two goals, on foreign soil, in either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier, with the last time this happened having come in 1989.
• They became only the second group of Warriors to score more than two goals on foreign soil, in either a World Cup/AFCON qualifier, in the 44 years in which we have been playing international football as an Independent nation.
• The only time this had happened was on April 8, 1989, when the Warriors thrashed Mauritius 4-1 in an AFCON qualifier in St Louis.
• Sadly, all the players who scored for the Warriors that day – Friday Phiri, with a brace, Stanley Ndunduma and Joel Shambo – are now late and didn’t get the chance to see another group of Warriors score more than two goals, on foreign soil, again.
• The Warriors thrashed Sudan 3-0 in an AFCON qualifier in Khartoum on October 5, 1996, with Agent Sawu scoring twice while the late Charles Yohane also on target.
• However, that stunning result, when Bruce Grobbelaar was temporarily in charge of the Warriors, was nullified by CAF after Sundan withdrew from the campaign amid civil disturbances in their country.

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