Warriors coach Callisto Pasuwa is refusing to bask in the glory of leading Group L of their 2017 Afcon qualifier after a convincing 4-0 rout of Swaziland at the National Sports Stadium on Monday.

Zimbabwe turned on the style to hammer Swaziland who nearly upset them on Good Friday with a 1-1 draw in Lobamba.

This result drew widespread criticism of Pasuwa as his tactics came under scrutiny.

As if taking a biblical leaf from Jesus’ resurrection on resurrection Sunday, the Warriors on Easter Monday rose up and dusted themselves to climb up to the heaven of Group L where they are now three points clear.

Facing the grim prospect of spoiling their campaign on Monday where they were restricted to goalless first half stalemate, it took Knowledge Musona’s penalty, Costa Nhamoinesu’s bullet header, Evans Rusike’s seemingly fluke goal and a Khama Billiat low shot to complete a second half four-goal blitz and dismantle a Swaziland side that appeared invincible.

With any result between other Group L contestants Malawi and Guinea still leaving the Warriors with the three-point lead, Pasuwa feels there is no need to celebrate much as the campaign is still on with two games remaining.

Zimbabwe just need three more points to book a place in Gabon 2016. “Yes it is good that we are now on top and that was our target. What we had planned seemed to have worked well for now,” Pasuwa said.

“But we still have two more games to play and that is six points on the table. We might need to collect at least three more but the battle is still on. We have not yet qualified so we have to work hard to achieve that. Some hard work still need to be done so we are not yet celebration.”

Zimbabwe will host Malawi in June and then travel to Guinea in September. A win over Malawi and in the event Guinea beat the Flames on Tuesday will see the Warriors needing just minimum goal-defeat in their visit to Conakry.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com