HAT-TRICK hero Knox Mutizwa has thanked the technical team for their patience.
The Golden Arrows forward was the hero of the day when he banged his first international hat-trick in Zimbabwe's 4-3 win over Lesotho in the semi-finals.
“I want to thank my teammates and coaches. Above all I salute God for this performance. This is my first hat-trick for the national team but it’s not easy to achieve that,” he said.
He added: “When I started this tournament I was very rusty. I was coming from holiday, more than a month at home. It was very tough for me but my coaches were pushing me. I was doing extra training with the fitness trainer when others were going for lunch or rest.
"In the first three games I failed to score but they never gave up on me. That boosted my confidence as well. When the coach told me that I was starting, I  promised them my best. I managed to score three goals and it’s a special win for them. They backed me from the onset when I was rusty."
Mutizwa is eying a superb show against Zambia in the final on Sunday.
"This is our chance to bring that home. We will fight like Warriors. It’s ours and we will do everything in our capacity to win it."