Not all is gloom and doom – Jacobs
Former Brave Warriors assistant coach Woody Jacobs is optimistic that the tides will turn in Namibia’s favour in the remaining Chan matches, despite Tuesday night’s performance against Guinea exposing the side’s weaknesses.
Limba Mupetami
WINDHOEK
The Brave Warriors shot themselves in the foot early in the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) Group D match on Tuesday night.
The team conceded an unnecessary goal in the 13th minute thanks to a mistake by Immanuel Heita.
Heita made a sloppy back pass to goalkeeper Edward Maova, but Guinea’s Yakhouba Gnagna Barry got hold of the ball and slotted it into the back of the net.
Before half-time, the West African nation scored again through Morlaye Sylla, and their third goal came in the 86th minute – courtesy of Barry again.
The victory puts Guinea at the top of the group log, with Zambia having been beaten 2-0 by Tanzania.
Learn from the experience
Outspoken former assistant coach Woody Jacobs said the Warriors’ performance “went from bad to worse”, with the players starting off on the wrong foot.
“We conceded a goal and dropped our head and things went from bad to worse.
“We should admit that it was a bad performance, but we should put it to bed; learn from the performance, lift our heads and use Guinea’s match as a stepping stone to move forward. We still have two matches to play so not all is doom and gloom,” he said.
Jacobs added that despite the bad performance, the competition provides an opportunity for players to expose their talents to the rest of Africa.
Teberius Lombard - who now plies his trade in Zambia for Zanacao - was scouted at the Chan tournament.
Sort it out
The competition is exclusively for players who currently ply their trade in their own nation's domestic leagues, but in Namibia, the league has been dormant for the last two years.
This inactivity due to infighting, combined with the players’ sombre performance, also drew commentary from Popular Democratic Movement secretary of sports, Johannes Martin.
He urged the Namibia Football Association as well as the Namibia Premier League to sort out their differences.
“Those who are in charge of the administration of football in this country should be ashamed of themselves. Our footballers cannot be expected to compete competitively with other nations while they do not engage in football and training on a regular basis.
“This state of affairs should come to an end. These two parties are destroying the future of sport in general and football in particular,” Martin added.
Namibia will face Tanzania on Saturday in their second match of the group. The top two from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The final will be held on 16 February at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon.
WINDHOEK
The Brave Warriors shot themselves in the foot early in the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) Group D match on Tuesday night.
The team conceded an unnecessary goal in the 13th minute thanks to a mistake by Immanuel Heita.
Heita made a sloppy back pass to goalkeeper Edward Maova, but Guinea’s Yakhouba Gnagna Barry got hold of the ball and slotted it into the back of the net.
Before half-time, the West African nation scored again through Morlaye Sylla, and their third goal came in the 86th minute – courtesy of Barry again.
The victory puts Guinea at the top of the group log, with Zambia having been beaten 2-0 by Tanzania.
Learn from the experience
Outspoken former assistant coach Woody Jacobs said the Warriors’ performance “went from bad to worse”, with the players starting off on the wrong foot.
“We conceded a goal and dropped our head and things went from bad to worse.
“We should admit that it was a bad performance, but we should put it to bed; learn from the performance, lift our heads and use Guinea’s match as a stepping stone to move forward. We still have two matches to play so not all is doom and gloom,” he said.
Jacobs added that despite the bad performance, the competition provides an opportunity for players to expose their talents to the rest of Africa.
Teberius Lombard - who now plies his trade in Zambia for Zanacao - was scouted at the Chan tournament.
Sort it out
The competition is exclusively for players who currently ply their trade in their own nation's domestic leagues, but in Namibia, the league has been dormant for the last two years.
This inactivity due to infighting, combined with the players’ sombre performance, also drew commentary from Popular Democratic Movement secretary of sports, Johannes Martin.
He urged the Namibia Football Association as well as the Namibia Premier League to sort out their differences.
“Those who are in charge of the administration of football in this country should be ashamed of themselves. Our footballers cannot be expected to compete competitively with other nations while they do not engage in football and training on a regular basis.
“This state of affairs should come to an end. These two parties are destroying the future of sport in general and football in particular,” Martin added.
Namibia will face Tanzania on Saturday in their second match of the group. The top two from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The final will be held on 16 February at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon.
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