WINDHOEK – Incumbent Namibian champions Black Africa simply can’t afford to fumble at the halfway stage of the MTC Premiership campaign when they take the short journey to confront the unpredictable Tura Magic at the Sam Nujoma stadium tonight at 20h00.
The undisputed Namibian champions who won three back-to-back league titles are perched in 4th position on the log standings – 2 points off the summit and a likely victory will see them leapfrog leaders Tigers into first place – albeit for 24 hours, until their title rivals return to the playing field with tricky matches awaiting them in tomorrow’s league action. Brian Isaacs’ charges will use the match as final preparation for the forthcoming CAF Champions League clash against South African giants Kaizer Chiefs, slated for the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, near Soweto, next week.
In the corresponding fixture last term, the then league rookies got the better of the proceedings, defeating the champions by a solitary goal and Isaacs is very much aware of the potential danger posed by his hard galloping opponents. “They have a very good squad of young and energetic footballers, who are still hungry and ambitious. To be quite honest, I’m not thinking about Chiefs now, we have to collect the maximum points at stake tonight before we start thinking about the next match.” The soft-spoken mentor is still bitter and rues his team’s wastefulness in last weekend’s potential title decider against fellow title contenders African Stars, which ended in a 1-all stalemate. “Obviously, I’m very disappointed that we did not take the maximum points, but people should not be fooled by that result. We have a creative squad full of highly gifted players with unbelievable individual ball skills, but failing to score has no doubt been our Achilles heel.” He admitted that the surprise departure of veteran forward, Jerome Louis, has left the club a bit thin upfront with gangling striker Kumbee Katjiteo, struggling to find the net regularly. “If you take a closer look at our results this season, you will notice that we have dominated most of the matches, but only managed to win by narrow margins while we depended heavily on our midfielders to score goals.”
Following a good start that saw Tura Magic in the top half of the log standings, Bertus Bock’s young brigade has slipped down the ladder and currently occupies 8th position with 12 points – 4 points from safety. In other action, both Tigers and Ramblers travel up north to confront Rundu Chiefs and United Stars respectively in a double header at the Rundu Sports Stadium tomorrow afternoon. MTC Premiership yo-yo team PC Blue Boys host African Stars at the Vineta Central Stadium in Swakopmund, Seasiders Eleven Arrows and LH Blue Waters resume their rivalry in a coastal derby at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay.
FNB Orlando Pirates greets Civics at the Sam Nujoma Stadium to bring the curtain down on the first round of league activities.
By Carlos Kambaekwa