The country is still in mourning following the deaths of
hundreds of people and loss of property caused by the devastating Cyclone Idai.
Sunday Chidzambwa’s men, who arrived at the stadium needing
only a draw to secure a successive qualification, found the victory that
brought smiles on the nation and cheered spirits through a goal each by Khama
Billiat and captain Knowledge Musona.
The Warriors wore black armbands and a minute of silence
was observed before the start of the match in honour of the victims of the
cyclone.
Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Coventry saluted
the Warriors for their victory and dedicating their win to the Cyclone victims.
More importantly the triumph also came on the second of the
two days of mourning which had been declared by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Minister Coventry said she was proud at the way the
Warriors had absorbed the pressure of playing at home and securing their win.
“I am very proud of the team, they had a lot of pressure
coming into the game and they played so well, the possession was always ours,
they were in full control. And I am very proud of them.
“I think it’s been an amazing win for Zimbabwe especially
with what the country has gone through over the last week. The boys were
playing with everybody in mind and I think that has made it really special.
“The boys were wearing the black bands in honour of
everyone that lost their lives or homes and they felt that it was extremely
important for them to win not just for the country but for all of those people
that are struggling in Manicaland. So they went above and beyond today and they
have made us extremely proud,’’ Coventry said.
Principal director in the Ministry of Sport, Arts and
Recreation Benson Martins Dube also welcomed the win which guaranteed the
Warriors a place among the 24 countries that will line-up at the Nations Cup
tournament in Egypt in June.
“I am very happy about what the boys have done for us
especially at this time when we are in mourning. They have really done us
proud,’’ Dube said.
Former Zimbabwe Olympic Committee president Tommy Sithole,
who was also among the strong crowd estimated at 55 000, noted that in tough
times such as those brought about by the cyclone, a nation needed something
that went some way to cheer their spirits.
“Well I think this is absolutely fantastic. We deserved to
win, we were at home and we had everything going for us, the crowd.
“We need this at this particular time of grief that has
befallen all of us. So we needed something to pep us up and the boys came to
the party, it is fantastic.
“We have got at least something to cheer. We are of course
in grief, we have lost hundreds of our own people, we have lost property but
this is something to cheer, it is something we should be all happy about.
“Of course we are not forgetting what’s happened in the
East, we are not forgetting about our comrades and friends in Malawi and in
Mozambique but this is a little bit of a cheer and we thank God for it and we
thank our boys for it,” said Sithole. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment