Namibia taught a tough lesson by Angola

Namibia’s under-23 football coach Collin Benjamin says they will have to go back to the drawing board to rectify what went wrong in Angola after a 6-0 defeat.

It was Namibia’s second defeat in a row after having lost 2-1 to the same team in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The local side didn't look up to the task in a one-sided match dominated by Angola throughout the 90 minutes.

“The harsh reality of Namibian soccer hit us as we were given a football lesson by Angola.

“I think first goal was too quick and we were not on our men as we should have been, given the spaces between the players.

“We just never really recovered from that and that is why the Angolans had it so easy against us,” Benjamin said.



Harsh reality

Namibia’s level of fitness and readiness was put to the test against an Angolan side that has had active league football in their country.

This was a test the Namibians failed dismally following the humiliating defeat.

Benjamin acknowledged that his team needed to bounce back from the defeat in order to continue with the process of revamping local football.

“I think the process gives us time to go through these defeats to analyse them and try to better our mistakes.

“Diamonds are moulded under heavy, rough circumstances and with this score line, this was one of those circumstances.

“We have to see where we all went wrong and minimise the mistakes as well as go back to the drawing board to make things better for us,” the coach said.

The first thing he hopes to do is to get the players in better shape, with many not having competed professionally for the past three years.

He further urged Namibians not to give up on the team or the players as they will do whatever it takes to rise again.

“I can assure you now that these defeats will only make us stronger as a team."