WINDHOEK – Brave Gladiators Assistant coach, Ace Komeya is adamant that his side’s 3-1 loss against Ivory Coast during their second match of the African Women Championship will not prove a major “psychological blow” ahead of today’s decisive clash against Nigeria.
Namibia takes on Nigeria in a must-win clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium at 17h00 and Komeya says they are striving for nothing less than a victory against the African giants Nigeria, who have won the African Women championship on eight occasions.
“We started off in the opening match against Zambia but lost our second game against Ivory Coast, so going into today’s match we will go all out and ensure we get a victory against Nigeria. We have to make sure we deliver the desired results and put a smile on the faces of all our loyal supporters”, said Komeya.
Komeya added that despite having been at the end of some big defeats against Nigeria in the past, the team has gained the necessary experience and will be ready to put up a good fight.
“ We have evolved over the years and our past mistakes have taught us a lot and going into tomorrow’s game, we want to show indeed that we have learned something and we can face,” warned Komeya.
Gladiators’ vice-captain, Lena Noreses also promised a good finish for the team: “We had pressure all along from the first game and it keeps mounting and we understand the expectations we have created. But we have now spoken to each other and know how to handle the pressure to our advantage and we want to deliver on our final Group game and see what happens going forward. It won’t be easy but we will do our best as always”, indicated Noreses.
At the Independence Stadium, Ivory Coast will face Zambia at 17h00. Nigeria lead Group-A with 6-points, followed by Ivory Coast on 3-points and Namibia in 3rd place with also 3-points, while Zambia last on the log without a point thus far. The Gladiators have to win and hope Ivory Coast loses for them to progress to the semifinals.