By Festus Nakatana
A relatively inexperienced and rejuvenated Namibian side left for Gaborone today to face Botswana on Saturday in the second semi-final of the Cosafa Castle Cup tournament in that country.
Generally, and judging by the previous encounters between the two sides, Botswana, who will be playing on home turf are favourites, but history counts less in football. Namibia will go into the match as underdogs and will largely pin their hopes on its current generation of players to emerge victorious.
Much will also be expected from the two caretaker coaches in Ronnie Kanalelo and Brian Isaacs in the absence of head coach Ben Bamfuchile who is still recuperating from illness.
In the absence of lethal striker and new Silver Stars acquisition, Henrico Botes, African Stars striker Gerson Katjatenja will lead the Brave Warriors attack. Katjatenja, who scored in the friendly game against Malawi earlier this month, will only be playing his second international.
Meraai Swartbooi, who has shown a lot of potential since starring for the Warriors in his first match against Libya in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, will possibly partner Katjatenja upfront. Swartbooi, who plies his trade in Angola with Premiero De Agosto, will be a key asset upfront.
In their last home matches, the Warriors showed considerable improvement upfront in the absence of a lethal striker, a move that has seen players like Swartbooi and Collin Benjamin bolstering the attack. The team also boasts skilful players like Rudolph Bester and Letu Shatimuene, who are more likely to be deployed on the flanks.
The Warriors are deadly on the flanks and create most of their chances through the wide players, but the side lacks a midfielder who can penetrate inside the opponent’s half and provide defence-splitting passes. Players like Robert Nauseb and Oliver Risser are ball winners and have the same qualities of playing defensively, but do not have the penetrative skills that may cause havoc in the opponent’s half. Players like Bester, Shatimuene and Swartbooi are capable of filing these roles but, given the lack of depth upfront and on the flanks, they are mostly used in those positions. The onus will be on Risser and Nauseb to stamp their authority in the centre of the park and provide accurate passes to their teammates.
In defence, the side will sorely miss the services of key defender Michael Pienaar who is still recovering from injuries sustained in a car accident. The onus will be on experienced defender Hartman Toromba to lead from the back and form a solid backline that is likely to consist of Maleagi Ngarizemo, Gottlieb Nakuta and Franklin April. Both Hartman and Pienaar have formed a good partnership at the back.
Athiel Mbaha, who has not seen action for over a year, will be the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Black Leopards’ Ephraim Tjihonge, who has also not been playing competitively for his South African club. Mbaha takes over the number one jersey from Abisai Shiningayamwe, who will be involved with pre-season training with his PSL club Jomo Cosmos.