WARRIORS coach Jairosi Tapera has lavished praise on his players for their flawless performance at the ongoing Cosafa Cup tournament, where they have collected maximum points in two matches.
Tapera’s charges have so far surpassed expectations, beating Comoros 1-0 in their opener on Thursday last week before overpowering neighbours Zambia 2-0 on Sunday to book their place in the last four of the tournament.
Zimbabwe play their last pool game against Kenya this afternoon, hoping to avoid defeat to secure top spot finish in the group.
The Manica Diamonds mentor said he was not surprised by the performances so far.
“In terms of performance and results, these boys have done very well,” Tapera said.
“We are proud of their performance in all departments. They are doing exceptionally well and we wish they continued doing that going forward.”
Tapera added: “I am not surprised by the performance of this team. I have seen these boys play back home in the league, and I was an admirer of all of them before I got this coaching post.
“It was a matter of calling these boys to the team because they are all wonderful players. They are very eager to improve in all aspects of the game.”
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He made special mention of Michael Tapera (not related to the coach), who has been in superb form in each of the two matches so far.
“Everybody can see how good he is. He has been scoring goals at Manica Diamonds, so this is just a continuation of what he has been doing in Zimbabwe. I am happy for him and I wish he continues to improve going forward,” Tapera said.
Tapera said he could ring some changes in the side to face Kenya this afternoon.
The match game kicks off at 12pm.
“We are not going to make changes because we have six points, [but] we are going to make changes because everybody needs to play and we have to assess all the players.”
Defenders Malvin Hativagone, Shane Maroodza of Huddersfield and Joey Phuti, who was handed his debut against Zambia as a late substitute, are doubtful for the match due to injuries.
Brentford B goalkeeper Marley Tavaziva may have to wait a bit longer for his international debut.
“Many people wish for these boys [based in the United Kingdom] to play, but it is very tricky. It does not work like that. We are working with these boys and we have to get to a situation where we think they are now ready to play at this level,” Tapera said.
“As for Marley, he is a talented young man, but I don’t want to play him and set him up for failure. We will play him at the right time when we see that he is ready and can do well. If we throw him at the deep end and he makes a mistake and the team loses, I would have killed his confidence and ultimately his progress.”
Zimbabwe will go into the match against Kenya this afternoon looking to avenge for the 3-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the east African nation in a four-nation invitational tournament in Malawi recently.
