Zimbabwe revived their faint hopes of reaching the 2012 African Cup of Nations finals with a 2-1 victory over Mali on Sunday.

A twice-taken 90th minute penalty converted by Knowledge Musona gave the Warriors their first win of the campaign.

A massive brawl between the players ensued after the goal.

Zimbabwe goalkeeper Tapiwa Kapini was knocked to the ground and Mali defender Mahamadou Diarra was red-carded.

Musona had put Zimbabwe ahead just before half-time, scoring from an acute angle inside the box in front of a boisterous home crowd at Harare's Rufaro stadium.

But El Hadj Mohamane Traore equalised for Mali on 52 minutes, after the Zimbabwe defence failed to clear the ball.

The Eagles looked to have done enough to have earned a point until Ovidy Karuru was brought down as he ran towards goal, leading to the action-packed climax.

Mali's Eagles remain second in Group A, a point ahead of the third-placed Warriors

By BBC

Comments(1):

1. Thumbs Up for Warriors and Bafana Bafana

   The win by the Zimbabwe Warriors not only bolstered their chances of qualifying for Africa Cup of Nations but also rejuvinated the excitement and jubilation of the Warriors fans who had been starved of celebrations for such a long time as a win proved elusive and fluid.As an ardent fan of the Warriors,I say thumbs Up to Norman Mapeza and his charges.And it is my hope that this is just the beggining of good things to come.Iam reminded of Reinhard Fabisch's Dream Team where Warriors fans were not only treated to another brand of football but were kept celebrating match after another. Iam also happy that our neighbors Bafana Bafana did a splendid performance by holding the Pharoahs in their own backgroung though admittedly they could have won the game 3-0 had it not been for the two blunders committed by Mphela and the late second half substitute.Mphela came face to face with the goalkeeper in the first half but failed to dribble past the goal minder leading to the experienced keeper to save the otherwise poorly executed shot.The half substitute wearing jersey numnber 18 could have scored the only goal required to ensure maximum points for Bafana Bafana but faced with the goalkeeper beaten he failed to score in an empty net that was yawning before him.Anywhere mistakes do happen in football and winning is about taking advantage of the mistakes committed by others while avoiding mistakes that will give another team an opportunity to strike a goal. Ayoba!!!

   Monday, June 06, 2011 Bokang