Vietnam — WARRIORS caretaker coach Luke Masomere has demanded a better defensive show from his players -- and improved focus over 90 minutes -- ahead of today's crucial tie against hosts Vietnam in their Agribank Cup soccer showdown.

Masomere, thrust into the spotlight for this tournament, has asked his players to give him a victory he believes could turn around their campaign, derailed by an agonising opening day defeat at the hands of holders Finland.

A championship-winning coach with Amazulu, Masomere has always insisted that the time is ripe for him to play his part in the fortunes of the Warriors, especially in the countdown to the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

His chance came last week when he was given the responsibility to lead the Warriors, on a caretaker basis, on this week-long tour of Vietnam where they will play three games in this annual invitational tournament.

Masomere's first game in charge ended in a 2-3 defeat on Thursday in a game in which the Warriors powered their way to a two-goal lead in the first half before they collapsed in the second period to lose the match.

The coach believes his charges became complacent in the second half and conceded goals they could have avoided with better focus to their defensive duties.

"Our defending in the second half was not up to scratch and we paid dearly for that. We also got complacent when we got the two goals and we lost our focus and we started to back-pedal.

"We have two more games to play and we are not yet out of the running to win the championship.

"We now have to play with the right concentration in the entire 90 minutes in our next two games," said Masomere.

He now wants his defensive players to apply themselves to their duties with better focus -- over 90 minutes -- and believes once they avoid conceding goals, they have enough arsenal upfront to get the goals they need for victory.

Masomere will not wring a lot of changes from the team he believes played very well in the first game but were just unlucky not to come out with, at least, a point.

But he will throw in goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube between the posts in place of Energy Murambadoro as part of his emphasis on a training programme in which every player should play a part on the tour.

Murambadoro might have conceded three goals, but he played well under pressure against a team that created a lot of chances and his double save -- deep in the game -- was the highlight of the match.

The giant goalkeeper remains the best goalminder in the country and his performance, on his return to the national team, was brilliant.

He might have been at fault over the second goal, curled beyond him when he was badly positioned, but his overall performance was solid.

Masomere wants his midfield to play better than they did against Finland.

A combination of Lionel Mtizwa, Mtshumayeli Moyo and Justice Majabvi is made up of the best midfield players on the domestic Premiership today.

Moyo brings in his creative talents while Mtizwa and Majabvi have both the steel to defend and the talent to create chances when they venture forward.

On Thursday, the combination did not click as well as their coach might have wanted and their creative aspect was not as productive as the team might have needed.

Defensively, too, Mtizwa and Majabvi did not provide the concrete cover that the last line of defence needed in their tough battle to repel the buoyant Finnish team. But, on the few occasions that their combination clicked, they were a joy to watch.

Majabvi was unlucky not to get a goal on Thursday when his blistering drive, just after the interval, should have got better reward than the super save that followed from the Finnish goalkeeper.

The Dynamos skipper is a committed Warrior and he always gives his best shot and he was again buzzing on Thursday and was clearly the best midfielder in Masomere's pack.

"Our midfield did not click the way we wanted,but hopefully they will do very well this time around."

That will -- to a large extent -- depend on the mood of Moyo who, on his day, can tear apart any opposition with his fine creative skills.

The Shooting Stars talisman did not scale his expected heights in the opening game on Thursday and Masomere will be hoping for the performance he knows could open the supply lines for chief striker Kingstone Nkhatha.

The CAPS FC striker was the star of the show for the Zimbabweans on Thursday with a double strike that gave the Warriors a two-goal cushion before their second half collapse cost them the game.

Nkhatha will again carry the responsibility to provide the goals for the Warriors in today's game.

He will once again start alongside Richard Mteki in attack and he will be hoping that the Lengthens striker will also give an improved performance in this game.

Mteki was outstanding for the Warriors in his first game -- the 3-1 win over Malawi -- in which he also scored his maiden international goal.

But he struggled against Finland and was eventually pulled out for Washington Pakamisa, whose pace added life into the team.

Masomere, though, believes Mteki should be given another run in the starting XI and it's now up to the player to repay his coach in this game.

He is unlikely to change the central defence of Thomas Sweswe and Gilbert Banda, who played well despite being a first-time partnership in the heart of the rearguard.

Winger Edward Sadomba was impressive against Finland and created the two goals with his pace and accurate crosses down the right.

The Dynamos speed merchant has had a good season, terrorising defenders in the domestic Premiership with his pace down the wing and dribbling skills.

On Thursday, he took his good form to the international stage and gave a solid performance.

This match pits two teams that lost their opening matches with Zimbabwe going down at the hands of Finland and Vietnam losing 1-2 to Uzbekistan.

Masomere believes victory over Vietnam will lift his Warriors back into contention to win the tournament as six points could be enough to capture the cup.

"That is why I have demanded that the boys should give me a win. That's all I want because a draw will not be enough for us in this tournament."

The first game, in this double-header, pits Uzbekistan against Finland at 4pm (11am Zim time) while the match between Zimbabwe and Vietnam gets underway at 6pm (1pm Zim time).