Zimbabwe head coach Kaitano Tembo has admitted that poor finishing and bad decision-making played a major role in his side’s 2-0 defeat to Nigeria in the semi-final of the Unity Cup, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Warriors were beaten by the Super Eagles on Tuesday night at The Valley in London, with debutant Femi Azeez scoring twice to send Éric Chelle’s side into the final of the invitational tournament.
Despite the defeat, Tembo believed his team created enough opportunities to get something from the game but failed to make the most of their chances in key moments.
“We had our moments, and they had theirs,” Tembo said after the encounter.
“The difference is that they took advantage of their moments, and we failed to do so.”
The Zimbabwe coach also acknowledged that the Super Eagles managed possession and transitions better throughout the game, while his players struggled to make the right decisions in dangerous areas.
“I thought they kept the ball a little better and longer than we did. We could have done better in those crucial stretches, especially on the transition where we needed to make better decisions and take proper care of the ball,” he added.
“That was the deciding factor. Our opponents capitalized on the chances they created to score, whereas we failed to take advantage of our own high-quality opportunities.”
Tembo further stated that Zimbabwe must improve its attacking efficiency moving forward, insisting the team will continue working on converting chances in future matches.
“Moving forward, we need to ensure we are much more lethal in the final third, so we will go back to the training ground and work on that,” he concluded.