Zimbabwe (13) v (2) Netherlands
Zimbabwe continued their amazing form, beating the Netherlands 13-2 in their first secondary group stage match at Fed Square Stadium.
Zimbabwe (13) v (2) Netherlands
By Claire Varley
ZIMBABWE continued their amazing form, beating the Netherlands 13-2 in their first secondary group stage match at Fed Square Stadium.
While the crowd was somewhat distracted by local entertainers Hamish and Andy, who had the mostly school-aged audience shrieking with delight, Zimbabwe was quick to take the first goal of the match.
Netherlands keeper Vincent Gard did an admirable job defending the barrage of Zimbabwe attempts on goal, but another two goals put Zimbabwe in front 3-0.
Three minutes in, Gard fell to the ground clutching his leg in obvious pain, and was cheered off by the appreciative crowd, having proven himself against the high-octane Zimbabwean attack.
Zimbabwe took advantage of the new Netherlands keeper, with Kingswall Lunga firing in three more goals, followed by two more Zimbabwean strikes.
The new Netherlands keeper soon got into the pace of the match and did a fantastic job of defending the goals against the Zimbabwean onslaught.
With the score 8-0 at half time, Hamish and Andy returned to fire up the young crowd and Fed Square became filled with the high-pitched squeals of a hundred young school kids.
The Netherlands came back hungrier and took their first goal for the match, with Ruben Lingen firing a well-paced shot past Kudakwashe Herbert Matika , the Zimbabwean keeper.
Matika quickly recovered and was back to his nimble form for the rest of the game.
Zimbabwean goals followed from Muriwa and Simbarashe Saidi, whose legs proved too fast for the Netherlands keeper.
Netherland's Tony Pires managed to slot another well-placed goal into the net from a tricky side angle, as the Netherlands quickened their pace for the rest of the match.
Despite Zimbabwe's Vincent Chawanda being benched for two minutes with a blue card, the remaining two Zimbabwean players didn't seem to notice, with Saidi taking another goal. At the final whistle the score was 13-2.
Photos: Photoworx