Mhlauri's fury over Ndlovu no-show

Mhlauri's fury over Ndlovu no-show

CENTURY MAN: Ndlovu might have played last game for Warriors

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By Nkanyiso Moyo

Zimbabwe.........1
Burkina Faso.....1

ZIMBABWE laboured to a 1-1 draw with visiting Burkina Faso in a friendly match at Rufaro Stadium on Tuesday evening, the match overshadowed by Peter Ndlovu's failure to report for national duty.

The Mamelodi Sundowns striker, who had a much publicised fight with Warriors skipper Benjani Mwaruwari, is now out of the Warriors' do-or-die African Cup of Nations qualifier away to Morocco on Saturday.

Ndlovu, who notched 100 caps for the Warriors in the 1-1 draw with Saturday's opponents in the reverse fixture in March, could have played his last game, according to sources close to the Warriors technical team.

Coach Charles Mhlauri, who has already lost Esrom Nyandoro and Tinashe Nengomasha for the crucial game through injury, has told Ndlovu he will not travel with the team after the player said they could pick him up in Johannesburg enroute to Casablanca.

"He did offer to join up with the team if we picked him up in South Africa on our way to Morocco," Mhlauri said last night.

"But we took the view that there are players in camp who have been working hard and will rightly fail to find justification in us going around looking for a player who has failed to turn up."

While Mhlauri was not saying it, privately, the technical staff are said to be furious after Ndlovu chose to attend Sundowns' end of season awards on Monday night instead of making the trip to play against Burkina Faso.

A source said: "Mhlauri and the manager (Ernest Sibanda) are done with Peter. It looks unlikely that he will ever play for country again. That could be cast in stone if we fail to beat Morocco on Saturday, which effectively knocks us out."

Ndlovu escaped punishment for the hotel fight with Mwaruwari, which, contrary to earlier reports, in fact centred on alleged acts of witchcraft. Mwaruwari was furious after an attempt was made to snatch his boots, allegedly by Ndlovu.

A Warriors source said last night: "The whole team knows the story. Peter has most probably stayed away to hide his own embarrassment. It's such an anti-climax to an otherwise great international career."

Shingi Kawondera got the opener for the Warriors on Tuesday night, but Charles Kabore equalised for Burkina Faso.

The draw follows another identical stalemate last Friday when the Warriors were held by Lesotho at Mucheke Stadium in Masvingo.
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