The Warriors suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in their AFCON Qualifiers clash at the National Sports Stadium on Monday, despite a late goal from Marshall Munetsi.
Zimbabwe were left chasing the game after conceding twice in the first half, with the visitors holding on for all three points despite Munetsi’s stoppage-time header.
DRC opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Newcastle United star Yoane Wissa, who capitalised on goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze’s failure to clear a cross before finishing well.The visitors doubled their advantage in the 45th minute when Samuel Moutoussamy found the back of the net to give DRC a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break.
The Warriors made two changes at the start of the second half in a bid to turn the game around, with Sean Fusire replacing Tawanda Chirewa, while Emmanuel Jalai came on for Andy Rinomhota.
Zimbabwe pushed for a way back into the contest, with Munetsi coming close in the 81st minute after unleashing a long-range effort that the DRC goalkeeper parried over the bar.
The Warriors eventually found the breakthrough in the 91st minute when Munetsi rose to head home and reduce the deficit to 2-1.
However, the late goal proved insufficient to rescue a point as DRC held on to claim victory.
The result leaves DRC top of Group E with six points, while Zimbabwe remain second on three points, level with Equatorial Guinea, who secured a 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone.
