SKW were on course to collect three points at the Trustco United Football Field on Saturday, only to lose grip and let Swallows score two set pieces to earn a 2-all draw.

The MTC HopSol Youth League second leg kicked off last week with the youngsters hungry for game time, as the school resumed after a month-long break. A much-anticipated tactful game between the two sides was at play as SKW scored earlier on through Tjimbinondja Musirika, and Brudinho Kandirikirira registered their names on the score sheet.

The ever-fighting spirit of the Katutura outfit never died as they smartly placed their set pieces past the goalkeeper in the second half, courtesy of Masule Munyeme.

Coach Lazarus Xoagub of Swallows felt the game was tactful from the onset, with a slow pace to it, which worked in their favour in the end.

“What a game, tactically. First half, we were a little bit slow, and they got a lot of space, and they played. Fortunately, today is our day,” he explained.

“We came back, and then we managed to salvage a throw, but it was a game of two halves. There are too many tactics. We have to close them down and fight for the ball,” he said.

Xoagub’s game plan was to be first on the ball, but their opponents made it difficult for them. “In our passing lines, we block our passing lines. We have to revert to say, guys, let’s keep the ball.”

“Let’s keep moving. Let’s keep the passing going. We must talk about confidence because, two-nil down, we needed a miracle, so to speak. But we managed, we came back. Two beautiful free kicks, at least we salvage our one point,” he added.

SKW’s coach, Lucky Kakuva, felt they dominated the match, especially in the first half, as they created good opportunities for themselves only to lose out in the end. 

“Our game model in possession and out of possession was very clear. I think there was no way for the opponent.

So, as a developmental purpose in our second half, we made a couple of changes, and then there, I think we lost a bit of rhythm,” he said.

Kakuva will head into the week to assess and analyse what went wrong for them to better plan for the upcoming games. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s still a point. It’s better than nothing. I’m not happy. I mean it was a game that we’re supposed to win, but such is football; the unpredictability is there, and then we brought the opponent back with unnecessary fouls just in front of the box, and that is exactly what happened,” he concluded.

Elsewhere 

Riverheights Football Academy U/19 were in fine form at the same football field as they won their opening match 3-1 against Julinho Athletic Football Club.

Coach Penda Ndivayele from Riverheights said the game was good as the boys played well based on the training and the tactics. 

“We fulfilled what we did for the whole week. So, I guess and I believe that we can continue doing this all the way up again to the next games that we have left. 

Otherwise, I’m very appreciative of what they did, the discipline, and everything except for a slight problem that we had at the back, where we had to consider our own goal,” he said.

“I mean, they learned something also from that as a goalkeeper. How to handle the ball when there’s no pressure and when there’s pressure, whether to control or not to control. So it’s good. 

I’m satisfied with the score.”

“The technical approach was just to play the ball more into their half, press them hard, and play the ball quicker.

I mean, it’s the only way we could get goals. I think they did that well, and discipline in our position also helped us to stay focused and open up space for us to get our goals,” he said.

-slunyangwe@nepc.com.na