Namibia’s Windhoek Draught Welwitschias head coach Chrysander Botha on Saturday expressed disappointment with his side’s continued inability to execute their game plans, following a 24-48 defeat against the visiting Falcons of South Africa.
Saturday’s defeat to the Falcons at the Hage Geingob stadium in the capital saw the Namibians recording their second straight loss in the ongoing Mzansi Challenge. The visitors, who led 30-10 at halftime, dominated the match from start to finish.
In a post-match interview, a clearly frustrated Botha said he was dissatisfied with the overall performance of his charges, whom he said failed to stick to their game plan and to match their opponent in almost all departments of Saturday’s match.
“The Falcons’ set piece dominance put tremendous pressure on us, making it challenging to execute our game plan. Additionally, our team failed to synchronise and work cohesively, causing us to deviate from our game plan. In the end, it resulted in us playing catch-up,” he said.
Botha added they missed a great opportunity to secure a crucial win on home turf – something he said was part of their bigger game plan.
Going forward in the competition, the gaffer shared that they will return to the drawing board and tighten all loose ends and ensure the team plays as a unit. He also touched on the importance of perfecting their finish touch and keeping the ball in the right areas. “We are going to focus on building on our strengths and organising ourselves as a team. We had plenty of opportunities, but we could not convert them into points, which is a critical aspect we will be emphasising on moving forward. Our plan now is to strategise on how to capitalise on these chances and convert them into points. All those things will contribute to our performance and also help us win games.”
Meanwhile, Falcons mentor JP Immelman said he was happy with the performance of his team and with how they won the match. He acknowledged that the Welwitschias are a good team but believes they are yet to hit their stride.
“I believe we played a good game, as we followed the plan we had set before the match. We created enough opportunities to score points in the early stages of the game. We had hoped to do more, but the Welwitschias did not allow us to dominate the game completely as we wanted,” he stated.
“I think the Welwitschias are a good team, consisting of dangerous players, but I believe the issue is that they are not yet clicking as a unit. We were fortunate to play them in the early stages of the competition because when they do find their rhythm, they will undoubtedly pose a problem.”
- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na