PRETORIA – Croatian gaffer Zdravko Logarusic, successfully logged out Zimbabwe from the COSAFA Cup 2021 tournament in South Africa, following a 2-1 loss to guests Senegal.
Logarusic has now taken charge of two tournaments (CHAN and COSAFA) and on both occasions, Zimbabwe has failed to post a victory.
The record of the Croat is even more dismal when considering that out of the 12 games he has been the coach, there is one victory, four draws and six losses.
Zimbabwe only managed to win against poor Botswana in an AFCON qualifier which eventually led to their qualification to the next Afcon showpiece following the defeat of neighbours Zambia by heavyweights Algeria.
Qualification for AFCON 2022 in Cameroon can be attributed to Logarusic and nothing will change that, but when critical analysis is done, all facts point to former gaffer Joey Antipas as the man who did all the work.
Logarusic broke another record by ending a 21-match unbeaten run at COSAFA for the Warriors following a 2-0 defeat to Namibia in the last match.
As if that was not enough, Zimbabwe lost again to Senegal in a match played at Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe started the match on the front and were awarded a penalty 2 minutes into the game after Deric Murimba was brought down in the box.
Captain of the day Qadr Amini made no mistake from the spot kick, sending Senegal goalkeeper the wrong way.
Senegal were the better side from there onward, launching attack after attack in search of an equaliser.
The goal eventually came on the stroke of half time when Senegal won a free kick in a dangerous position.
Abdou Ndoye scored for Senegal after goalkeeper Martin Mapisa punched the ball in his way following the free kick.
Zimbabwe were again poor in the second half, spending most of the time in defensive mode as Senegal searched for a second one.
Mohammed Ba scored the goal that put Zimbabwe to the sword in the 87th minute following an excellent run of play.
The result means Zimbabwe are out of the Cosafa Cup 2021 edition.
