Nottingham Forest defender Tendayi Darikwa made his competitive debut for Zimbabwe, and played his part in a crucial victory.

The Reds full-back played the full 90 minutes as his country beat DR Congo 2-1 in the first of an African Cup of Nations qualifying double-header.

Darikwa had previously only been allowed to feature for the Warriors in friendlies, but finally securing a Zimbabwean passport allowed him to take part in competitive matches.

Head coach Sunday Chidzambwa had previously spoken of his delight at being able to call upon Darikwa, and he named the 26-year-old in his starting line-up in Kinshasa.

Zimbabwe had to defend strongly at times as the hosts dominated possession early on, but Ronald Pfumbidzai opened the scoring midway through the first half.

Knowledge Musona then doubled the Warriors’ advantage 20 minutes from time, shortly before being sent off for a second bookable offence.

DR Congo still struggled to break down a stubborn Zimbabwe rearguard, however, with substitute Yannick Bolasie’s injury-time strike proving little more than a consolation effort.

Darikwa tweeted a picture of the national flag, writing: “Be proud. See you all on Tuesday.”

The win puts Zimbabwe three points clear of their opponents at the top of their qualifying group, with the two sides set to meet again in Harare on Tuesday evening.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Darikwa had spoken about how he was looking forward to showing the home fans what he could do.

“I will bring hard work and passion. I think especially when the fans see me in the home game on Tuesday, they will see my passion and they will see I’m here to represent and to try to contribute going forward.”

He added: “It’s good to be back, it’s been a long time and a lot of paperwork had to go through.”-nottinghampost