Namibia fight to reach semi-final
The Young Warriors of Namibia won one match against Angola and lost the other to Lesotho in the under-20 Cosafa Championships taking place in Zambia.
The Young Warriors opened their Group C encounter with a 1-0 victory over Angola on Friday and lost 2-1 against Lesotho.
They will now have to beat Zimbabwe to entertain hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
In their second match, Lesotho were all over Namibia in the first half but the boys defended well until halftime, with Lesotho reduced to ten men after R Mobane was sent off on 41 minutes for a reckless tackle on Rivaldo Festus.
In the second half, Gerald Gunther introduced Romario Hawiseb for the ineffective Enzo Mungendje who scored in the Angola victory, and on 64 minutes the substitute got his goal as Namibia made their numerical advantage count.
Hawiseb volleyed home at the near post after a counter-attack and sloppy Lesotho defending.
However, on 70 minutes Lesotho got the equaliser through Koloti Roboama and he completed his brace on 76 minutes and he should have scored his third later on as the game ended 2-1 in favour of Lesotho.
In his match analysis, a gutted Gunther said the team did not pitch on the day and Lesotho deserved their victory.
“From the word go, our boys did not compete at all. Lesotho played football from the 1980s: Put in long balls and play a physical match.
“Our boys could not handle that. After we went 1-0 up we got complacent and they came back. Our key players did not pull their weight and Lesotho worked very hard for their win,” Gunther said.
Lesotho are now at the top of Group C with four points with Namibia in second place with three points.
The Young Warriors will have to beat Zimbabwe in their final game, as only the group winners and the best runners-up from the three groups will reach the semi-finals.
“We have to forget about this defeat and plan for the game on today.
“We are fighting for our country and we still have a match to win and it's not yet over,” an optimistic Gunther stated.
The battle of the Young Warriors of Namibia and Zimbabwe will be today at 15:00.
SPORTS REPORTER
They will now have to beat Zimbabwe to entertain hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
In their second match, Lesotho were all over Namibia in the first half but the boys defended well until halftime, with Lesotho reduced to ten men after R Mobane was sent off on 41 minutes for a reckless tackle on Rivaldo Festus.
In the second half, Gerald Gunther introduced Romario Hawiseb for the ineffective Enzo Mungendje who scored in the Angola victory, and on 64 minutes the substitute got his goal as Namibia made their numerical advantage count.
Hawiseb volleyed home at the near post after a counter-attack and sloppy Lesotho defending.
However, on 70 minutes Lesotho got the equaliser through Koloti Roboama and he completed his brace on 76 minutes and he should have scored his third later on as the game ended 2-1 in favour of Lesotho.
In his match analysis, a gutted Gunther said the team did not pitch on the day and Lesotho deserved their victory.
“From the word go, our boys did not compete at all. Lesotho played football from the 1980s: Put in long balls and play a physical match.
“Our boys could not handle that. After we went 1-0 up we got complacent and they came back. Our key players did not pull their weight and Lesotho worked very hard for their win,” Gunther said.
Lesotho are now at the top of Group C with four points with Namibia in second place with three points.
The Young Warriors will have to beat Zimbabwe in their final game, as only the group winners and the best runners-up from the three groups will reach the semi-finals.
“We have to forget about this defeat and plan for the game on today.
“We are fighting for our country and we still have a match to win and it's not yet over,” an optimistic Gunther stated.
The battle of the Young Warriors of Namibia and Zimbabwe will be today at 15:00.
SPORTS REPORTER
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