Zimbabwe lose unbeaten record in loss to Guinea

Guy Michel was the difference at the 28 Septembre Stadium in Conakry Guinea as Zimbabwe lost their final Group L Africa Cup of Nations qualifier 1-0.

The Warriors played like a team that had already qualified as they were bullied by their hosts for long periods.

It was in the 12th minute that Michel took advantage of a ball over the top which left Tatenda Mukuruva stranded allowing the Guinea forward to score.

Guinea continued to dominate on a pitch that could be best described as a cabbage patch with their physical play going unchecked by the referee. This made it difficult for Kalisto Pasuwa’s men to play a passing game.

In the second half the Warriors upped their game and had a glorious opportunity to equalise when Knowledge Musona ran through on goal only for his shot to come off the upright with the keeper beaten.

Zimbabwe continued to press and match their opponents’ physical play.

With the referee punishing the hosts for their rough approach in the second half it was only a matter of time until one of them was sent off. A second yellow card for Bangura late on for time wasting.

After the end of it all, given the way the match started, the players did play a bit like strangers. With the shenanigans surrounding the local and SA-based players’ trip it was easy to see that combinations took time to set in especially as there had been no training session in Conakry.

That said, the boys are through and that is all that matters.