Harare — ZIMBABWE'S Warriors will have to sharpen their swords when they go hunting for their first victory against little Somalia in their Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup Group B match at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, this afternoon.

The match kicks off at 3pm Zimbabwean time.

The Warriors  who recently won the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup they hosted -- paid a heavy price for arriving late when they were held to a goalless draw by Eritrea in the opening match on Monday.

Now the Warriors, coached by former captain Norman Mapeza at this tournament, need nothing short of victory if they are to entertain any hopes of repeating their regional success.

Rwanda have already claimed victory over Somalia in the opening match and lead the group with three points.

The Warriors touched down in the Kenyan capital just eight hours before their game against Eritrea, and the effect of jet lag was evident as they struggled to turn on the style that powered them to success in the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup at home.

Mapeza's men, a vastly reshuffled pack from the team that won the Cosafa Cup, just could not break down a resilient Eritrea who fought gallantly for their point.

The Warriors went into the game as favourites, not only to win this tie but also the group that also features Rwanda and Somalia, but found the going -- especially in terms of creating goal-scoring opportunities -- a tougher task than they had expected.

Zimbabwe are hoping to add the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup to their Cosafa crown, but they have evidently sent a weakened team as compared to the one that they threw into battle for the Cosafa Cup, as the national coaches continue to try and assess players.

The Warriors are trying to establish a foundation on which to build a team that should be competitive on the international stage after the disappointment of two failed bids to qualify for the Nations Cup finals in 2008 and 2010.

Zifa have targeted the 2012 Nations Cup as a realistic showcase for the Warriors to play in while President Mugabe has even challenged the team to do better and try and qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

The President was the guest of honour when the Warriors turned on the style to destroy Zambia 3-1 in the final of the Cosafa Cup at Rufaro.

That team was under Sunday Chidzambwa and Mapeza has been given the responsibility to guide the team playing in Kenya because of the fusion of a number of Under-23 players in that squad.

Chidzambwa yesterday hinted that he might follow to Kenya and join the squad next week.

Mapeza, currently the Zimbabwe Under-23 national coach, is highly regarded back home, and appears on course to finally replace Chidzambwa -- one day -- as the substantive coach of the Warriors.

With a number of players drafted into the Zimbabwe team also needed by their clubs in the battles for survival and Champions League slots, it meant that the team never trained together even for a day.

The worst part was that the team could only assemble in Harare after the end of the domestic season, on the eve of their match against Eritrea, and a midnight flight from the Zimbabwean capital brought them to Nairobi just eight hours before their game against Eritrea.

Mapeza blamed the dropped points on Monday on the fact that the Warriors only assembled for the tournament on Sunday.

"We have not trained as a team, but I am confident we shall play better in the remaining matches (against Somalia and Rwanda," he said.

After facing Somalia this afternoon, the Warriors take on Rwanda in their final Group B match on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Rwanda laboured to a 1-0 win over Somalia in their opening Group B match at Nyayo National Stadium.

Badri Mwalimu scored an own goal in the fourth minute, and the score remained the same as the Somali team made a fight of it in front of many Nairobi-based Somali spectators who were lending their support.

The Rwandese were reduced to 10 men in the 30th minute when Jean Claude Iranzi was sent off for unsporting behaviour.

At the end, Rwanda coach Eric Nshiyimana was happy to have snatched the three points.

"Eighty percent of these players are drawn from the junior team and I am happy they have started well here," he said.

Abdi Farah, the Somalia coach, is looking forward to better results in their remaining matches against Zimbabwe today and Eritrea on Saturday.

"We cannot afford to lose two matches," he said, adding that he was happy that his boys had put up a good show despite political problems at home.

Meanwhile, Zambia got off to a flying start in this year's Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, defeating hosts Kenya 2-0 in the opening game. Two late goals secured victory for Chipolopolo at the Nyayo National Stadium.

The southern Africans dominated the game, but had to wait until the 88th minute before China-based James Chamanga broke the deadlock.

Zambia -- who are playing as guests in the tournament -- doubled their lead two minutes later when Sunzu Stopilla took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the home side to force the ball home.

Kenya coach Muhiddin Twahir pointed to a loss of concentration by his players as a reason for their defeat.

"These are the mistakes that need to be corrected ahead of our remaining group matches," Muhiddin said.

"It was definitely a disappointing start, but we have to get on top of things if we have to make an impression."

Despite his side's convincing display, Zambia's French coach Herve Renard insists they are not favourites for the title.

"It was good winning against Kenya, but we must not lose focus ahead of the remaining matches against Ethiopia and Eritrea," Renard said.

Defending champions Uganda triumphed 2-0 over Tanzania in their opening Group C game.

Owen Kasule struck after just three minutes for the Cranes, and Mike Sserumanga finished the job with just two minutes remaining.

But Zanzibar top group C after hammering Burundi 4-0 in Mumias in the west of the country.

Group B Standings

P W D L F A Pts

Rwanda 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Eritrea 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

Zimbabwe 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

Somalia 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

Saturday: Eritrea v Somalia (1pm); Rwanda v Zimbabwe (3pm). -- Sports Reporter-BBC Sport.