The fixture had to be taken to neighbouring Rwanda after their home ground in Bujumbura was declared 'unfit' for the game. After holding the hosts for 83 minutes, the Zebras allowed Abdul Hakizimana to snatch the winner, which technically ended the Zebras' dreams of reaching the 2008 AFCON finals in Ghana next year. The Zebras are currently at the bottom of the four-teams group with four points. Their next assignment will be against Mauritania on June 16 in Gaborone and after holding defending champions Egypt to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, the North Africans will come to Gaborone with their heads high. When the draw was conducted last year, some people thought that the Zebras would not have any problems of making it to the African showpiece, with only champions Egypt seen as the only stumbling block. Judging by their performance at the time, the less-fancied Mauritanians and Burundians were not supposed to give the Zebras any problems.
But things got off to a shaky start when the Zebras were humbled 4-0 by Mauritania on September 2 last year. This was coach Colwyn Rowe's first game of the campaign and it raised some doubts about his tactical awareness. But the Zebras redeemed their pride when they put a sterling performance to hold Egypt to a goalless draw at the National Stadium two months later. This was a rare achievement, which left many soccer fans confident that all was not lost. Next was Burundi at the slaughterhouse that is the National Stadium. Though the Zebras put up a mediocre performance on the day, they pulled a 1-0 win over Burundi on March 25 courtesy of Thato Siska's goal. But some commentators stated that the Zebras would not get any results unless their performance improved. Pressure started to mount on Rowe and this was not helped by the fact that he had not so good relationship with the media. The defeat to Burundi at the weekend dashed all hopes, as there is no guarantee that the Zebras can win against Mauritania and Egypt, especially that they will visit the continental champions in Cairo.
According to some pundits, it was clear that the Zebras would not return home with a positive result, given their dismal display against Libya in an international friendly game played in Gaborone on May 27. The draw ended up with some supporters booing poor Rowe off the field, thus forcing the policemen to escort the Englishman out of the stadium. Now some people believe that it is time that Botswana Football Association (BFA) reinstated Serbian-born Veselin Jelusic as trainer before the team loses its respect.
In an interview with Mmegi Sport yesterday, Township Rollers' assistant coach Daniel 'Chicco' Nare said that people made a big mistake by underrating Mauritania and Burundi, especially after the Zebras put up some impressive displays against Morocco, Malawi and Kenya in the last qualifiers. "Though we won against Burundi (in March), we were not convincing. And I would have thought that in preparing for the return leg, the coach would have tried different systems against Libya," said Nare. The Rollers' tactician believes that the Zebras' place in the 2008 showpiece was derailed by the transition, which took place last year when Rowe was appointed the coach. "I'm not saying that Rowe is not a good coach but I believe that Rowe came at a wrong time when we were preparing for the serious games," Nare told Mmegi Sport. He believes that Rowe could have been introduced through international friendly games and COSAFA Castle Cup games for him to gain valuable experience. "He's new in this job because unlike Vesco (Jelusic), he doesn't have experience at this level. He's bound to make mistakes on the job, which is happening now," added Nare.
As things stand, with everybody seemingly heaping the blame on Rowe, it remains to be seen what action BFA will take. Of late, the Zebras' support base has also shrunk, which many observers attribute to the uninspiring performance.
