The Collin Benjamin Soccer Talents U/19 kicked off their campaign with a convincing performance when they took to the field and defeated Otjomuise Rising Stars (ORS) 2-0.
CBS fielded two players who just participated in the recent Namibian Newspaper Cup, hoping to maintain the unbeaten record set by the former squad last year.
A mistake from the goalkeeper in the first half allowed the opponent to pounce on the ball and start the season campaign on a high note.
CBS’s second goal came from a well-played cross from their captain, Craig Muukweli, who drove the ball through past the goalkeeper, registering his name on the scoresheet.
The captain felt the match was not up to standard for his squad, especially since it was the opening game for the season.
“It was not for me. It’s not a good start because we have not played like we wanted to play. In the first half, it was a kind of good and bad,” he said.
Last season’s U/19 squad, CBS, went unbeaten, a feat that the current team would like to replicate.
“We have new players that have come into the team, so we will obviously do the same as the last team we will,” he said.
The losing coach, Nelson Shipandeni from ORS, said his team’s performance was not bad, with some positives to take from it.
“The boys did well, especially when it comes to taking instructions. We already knew that CBS were gonna be a better team than we are. They did a great job defending the game, especially in the first half,” he stated.
“The goal we conceded was a mere mistake from our defence because we gifted them that ball. That should not have been the case. As you can see, we had a chance to actually pull out one or equalise,” he said.
“I think it’s to pull out one, and then we missed a penalty. Then again, the second goal was also not really a well-worked goal. It’s still our mistakes. It’s not a big deal. The boys did well, so we’ll come back next time much, much stronger,” he stated.
Shipandeni feels they should reorganise themselves before the next game to improve and register a win before the holiday season kicks off.
“I think we just have to go back, reorganise ourselves and re-strategise. In terms of fitness, I think that’s also one of our areas where we are lagging. They just need to pull up their socks and up their game so we can be in this competition,” he concluded.
Elsewhere
The U/15 games continued at the Jan Möhr Football Field when Baller Boys went head-on with Bricks Football Club.
Bricks FC showed a bit of rustiness for their opening game as Baller Boys kept the ball possession in their half for the most part when they kicked off.
The attack-minded play from Baller Boys started paying off early on when they found the back of the net, ringing the bell that they were making a statement for the season as contenders in their age group.
A hat-trick from Jafet Levi and Leonard Nghidimbwasha sealed the deal as they collected three points, winning the match 4-0.
Coach Benrard Mbaeva from Bricks FC said his boys have not played in a long while and that they were a bit rusty.
“First half, you know, they couldn’t get the touches together. They couldn’t feel one another. The team hasn’t jelled that much. But I think in the second half, we did better, connecting a few passes together,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to improving in the second game. Now it’s almost exam time. U/15s don’t come that much to the training. Some have extra classes and stuff like that. So, it’s difficult to get the guys to train together and have a formidable side, and then that can produce results,” he stated.
He feels the way forward for his boys is to play more games so that the system he is trying to implement works.
“We will play more games. I think we can focus on playing friendlies before the actual game over the weekend, just to see the guys who play well together and then just to let them play,” he said.