Perennial underachievers Tigers and FNB Orlando Pirates shook off their habitual inconsistency when they recorded resounding victories to reach the final of the lucrative Bidvest Cup in Windhoek over the weekend.
As widely expected, Tigers brushed aside a hapless Eleven Arrows, scoring three unanswered goals to cruise through to the final, barely shedding an ounce of sweat in a one-sided encounter in the first of a double header at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.
A Fillemon Nambele brace complimented by Petrus Naftalie’s late strike did the trick for the resurgent Shadumbala boys.
In the other semifinal, Stars’ dream of clinching a rare double went up in smoke when they were elbowed out of the tournament by a determined 10-man Pirates 4-3 in the dreaded penalty shootout after the Katutura giants cancelled each out in a goalless draw.
It was a match of two contrasting tales with the Reds capitalizing on speed and power while Pirates used their superior skill, ball retention, ascendancy and tactical ability to the maximum.
Former Pirates nimble-footed midfielder Klaas Blom finally made his much-anticipated debut partnering old buddy Riaan Cloete in the Reds engine room but the pair struggled to make their presence felt as they were made to play second fiddle to their more energetic Buccaneers counterparts.
Enrico Haoseb proved a constant thorn in the flesh of Stars throughout the match as the skillful midfielder came out tops in the midfield battle only to be let down by poor decision-making in the final quarter.
Stars threatened to take the lead in the 35th minute but Guti Korukuve miscued his shot after he was set up by Aspiralla Wermann’s cleverly executed pass.
Soon afterwards, the Reds should have been a goal to the good but Joslin Kamatuka and Cloete made a complete nuisance of their attempts from close range.
Ten minutes after resumption, Pirates suffered a major setback when they were reduced to 10 men after pocket size midfielder Donavan Swarts was shown a red card for a second caution – leaving the Ghosts to soldier on with a man down for more than an hour.
Acrobatic shot stopper Charles Uirab, who gave a solid display between the sticks, came to the Ghosts’ rescue for the umpteenth in the match time when he blocked Cloete’s close-range attempt.
At the other end, lethal goal poacher Nicky Musambani, who had a relatively quiet game by his own standards, shaved the framework when clear on goal.
Coach Luckey Kakuva hauled off Tertius Uiseb and sent on the enterprising Marcello Haraseb, while Woody Jacobs responded by effecting a double substitution with Cloete and Blom making way for Treasurer Kauapirura and Godwin Jana.
As the match wore on, it was end-to-end stuff.
Stars dismally failed to maximize their numerical advantage but nevertheless created a fair share of half-goal scoring chances, which went astray.
Kamatuka’s tame shot was easily gathered by the wide awake Uirab, while Kauapirura tested the Ghosts gloves man with a rasping long-range drive.
Super-sub Haraseb went on an amazing slalom run – leaving the bemused Stars rearguard in total disarray but his final touch let him badly down.
Both defence held on with rock solid defending with Ferdinand Karongee (Stars) and Luckson Kaisa (Pirates) on top of their game.
It finished goalless after 90 minutes and none of the two teams could break the deadlock in the 30 minutes of extra time and the tie had to be decided on penalties. Pirates kept their nerve, dispatching four spot kicks in succession before Jana’s poorly taken spot kick was gathered by Uirab.
The latter almost turned from hero to villain when his penalty kick bounced off the framework but his opposite number Athiel Mbaha saved him the blushes by sending the decisive spot kick wide off target to give the Ghosts a well-deserved victory.