The ManicaPost
Sports Reporter
AFTER an impressive campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, Zimbabwe’s senior women hockey team fell short of claiming the bronze medal when they lost 1-3 to Kenya in a penalty shootout yesterday.
Following a goalless draw after regulation time, it needed the penalty lottery to separate the two sides who were facing each other for the first time in the competition.
Zimbabwe ended up paying for missing good chances during the match as Tinodiwanashe Elijah was the only player on target in the shootout, while Kenya could not convert their last quarter dominance into goals.
Coach, Patricia Davies and her charges had managed to progress to the semi-finals after finishing second to South Africa, who beat them 3-1 in the opener, in Pool A.
They had recovered to hammer Uganda 5-0 before holding Malawi 1-1.
Ghana dashed their dreams of making it into the final with a 2-1 defeat and Zimbabwe had shifted their focus to fighting for a bronze medal.
This is the farthest Zimbabwe had gone in the last 24 years after finishing in the semi-finals again at the 1998 edition.
Davis rued her team’s missed chances and attributed it to their downfall.
“Score when you get the opportunities, definitely, because we had opportunities we were not converting,” she said.
