WINDHOEK – At a time when many thought he had little left to offer, Brave Warriors stylish striker-cum-winger Rudolf Bester finally found his dancing shoes again when he came off the bench to score the only goal of the match in Namibia’s 1-0 win over Congo-Brazzaville, during their 2015 CAF Nations Cup first leg qualifier at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.
With just less than 20 minutes left on the clock, Bester who replaced Panduleni Nekundi, made a well timed run into the opposition’s box to connect beautifully with Heini Isaaks’ defense splitting pass and calmly picked his spot before burying the ball into the back of the net to sent the home crowd into raptures. Showing much composure and excellent teamwork the Brave Warriors looked like they were going to sweep Congo aside in the opening half which saw the home side waste decent goal scoring chances as Awillo Stephanus’ shot went up wide and Nekundi also blew away a good chance when he blasted the ball against the advancing Christoffer Mafoumbi. The visitors however mounted a good fight of their own to ensure the score stayed 0-0 at halftime.
As has become their trademark the Brave Warriors started the 2nd half at their usual high octane pace as they overwhelmed the visitors with their pressing and movement in the middle of the park and should have taken the lead early in the 2nd half when goals from Bester and Lazarus Kaimbi were ruled offside. The only complaint Mannetti could still have is that his team failed to find the back of the net, despite enjoying such dominance through their attractive pressing style of play, but that situation was remedied with less than 20 minutes from time when Bester scored in a breathtaking moment of individual brilliance to hand Namibia a well deserved victory.
At the final whistle, there were scenes of jubilation on and off the pitch and the vociferous home crowd soon had coach Mannetti in tears of joy as he strolled off the pitch heading to the dressing room. The 2nd leg is slated for Pointe-Noire in Congo-Brazzaville on June 01, 2014.
By Otniel Hembapu