WARRIORS skipper Ovidy Karuru is ready to sacrifice personal glory for the team, as the Sunday Chidzambwa-coached side prepare for a clash against Lesotho at the Moruleng Stadium tomorrow night, with a ticket to the Cosafa Castle Cup football final at stake.
BY HENRY MHARA IN SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA
Zimbabwe qualified for the semi-finals after a 2-1 triumph over Swaziland on Sunday, while Lesotho needed a penalty shootout win over Namibia earlier on Saturday to secure their place in the last four.
Karuru has been the driving force behind his team’s success this far, netting in three of the four matches that they have played here and winning the man of the match award twice, in the process.
His goal tally for this tournament stands at an incredible six, and he is now the second all-time highest scorer at the Cosafa tournament, two behind the legendary Peter Ndlovu, whose goals are spread over three editions.
With Zimbabwe still having at least two matches to play here, even if they lose the semi-final match, Karuru has a chance to break the goal record.
However, the midfielder is determined to see the team winning the trophy more than gaining personal glory.
“We have done well as a team to be where we are at the moment. At a personal level, I think I have also done well, but I’m more satisfied with the progress of the team than anything else. I will continue to work hard for the team. I have scored six goals and people might say I should go for the record, and if I can do it that would be a bonus, but my main focus is to see the team winning the trophy,” Karuru said.
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“I would want to win the Golden Boot award, but that does not mean I will be selfish and try to score goals every time. If my teammate is in a better position, I will pass the ball to him to score. When we win, the whole team celebrates and that is what we want. We are very united in our objective to win the tournament and with the way that we have played so far, we are capable of winning the Cup.”
Karuru’s co-captain Ocean Mushure, who has also been brilliant in the tournament and is the second top scorer here with three goals, has backed his teammate to win the top goalscorer award.
He said the team would help Karuru to achieve that.
“We are very happy for him. He has been driving this team and his performances have been top-class. We want him to win the award, and even to break the record. As a team, we will help him. He should continue getting into scoring positions, and we will find him. The good thing is he is very sharp and clinical in front of goal,” Mushure said.
Karuru scored twice when Zimbabwe beat Mozambique in the Group B opener on Monday, and he followed that up with a hat-trick on Friday in the 6-0 thrashing of Seychelles in the third group match.
He opened the scoring for Zimbabwe in the 2-1 victory over Swaziland in the quarter-finals.
The skipper, who is one of the only four players together with Eric Chipeta, Gerald Takwara, Jimmy Tigere and Liberty Chakoroma, who have played every minute of Zimbabwe’s games here, is expected to continue with his scoring form against a beatable Lesotho side, who huffed and puffed against Namibia. But the 28-year-old is cautious.
“They are a good team and we will have to be at our very best to win. They are not at this stage by chance. They earned their place and so we will have to respect them. But we have a very good side and I believe we will be too strong for them. It would be nice to qualify for the finals, and we will do our best to reach that stage.”
The team was given a rest yesterday and they return to training this morning.
Coach Chidzambwa has been full of praise for his boys, but he is also drooling about the support that his team is receiving from the fans here.
“The supporters have been wonderful, and we are clearly the best-supported team here. A number of people have been attending our matches and backing the boys and it has helped to boost the confidence. I really appreciate the support.”
