The Zimbabwe national team came back twice to draw 2-2 with Swaziland in their Cosafa Cup opener at the Sam Nujoma Stadium this afternoon.
The Warriors showed good fighting spirit but made the job tougher for themselves defensively in an action packed match
A completely unmarked Felix Badenhorst gave Swaziland the lead with a header despite a better start by Zimbabwe in the first half.
Jomo Cosmos striker Chartlon Mashumba showed some promise with half chances that came his way in the first half
Halftime came with the Warriors trailing 1-0
The start of the second half saw Swaziland continue to expose the Zimbabwe defence and with Tatenda Mukuruva not convincing in dealing with the ball they continued to press for more goals.
However in the 55th minute against the run of play the Warriors levelled with Tarumbwa scoring a beautiful header after a Talent Chawapiwa cross.
Swaziland were back in front after only nine minutes when Warriors skipper Danny Phiri handled while attempting to clear resulting in a Swaziland a penalty which Badenhorst converted.
With time running out the Warriors upped their tempo and launched more raids but Swaziland continued to cause more anxious moments for the Zim defence.
On the 79th minute a goal mouth scramble saw both Ronald Pfumbidzai and Mudehwe go for a bicycle kick with Pfumbidzai’s getting the connection to score.
It was a well taken goal and increased Zimbabwe’s confidence in going for winner. However the entertaining match ended in a draw.
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