By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK
It goes without saying that the festive season which everyone has been so eagerly looking forward to comes with its own hiccups – but some football teams in the domestic elite league are unlikely to have a jolly ride during the Christmas break.
After a well-deserved breather last weekend, it’s back to serious business this weekend when the MTC Namibia Premiership resumes with no less than five matches on display.
Coach-less and 6th placed Orlando Pirates will be out to redeem themselves after a string of poor results in their last league outings when the Buccaneers confront 4th placed Sport Klub Windhoek at the SKW stadium in Olympia tonight (19h00).
Despite an unbeaten run in the league this season, SKW has netted the least number of goals in the NPL campaign so far, and their misfiring strikers urgently need to jack up their act if the team is to become serious title contenders.
Victory for the Ghosts will move them into second spot on 11 points while a stalemate will push SKW up to second place – 2 points behind leaders Ramblers, albeit for 24 hours.
KM Eleven Arrows will be hoping for home ground advantage to turn around their fortunes and reclaim first spot which they relinquished to Ramblers in midweek.
Rammies came from two goals down to beat a resurgent Tigers outfit 3-2 under floodlights on Wednesday – a victory that saw the Tunchel Street Boys leapfrogging the coastal outfit into first place.
Second placed Arrows welcome Oshakati City at the Kuisebmond stadium in Walvis Bay tomorrow afternoon at 18h00, while basement residents APS Blue Waters travel to Otjiwarongo for their league assignment against Dawid Snewe’s fast-improving Mighty Gunners at the Mokati Stadium (18h00).
MTC Namibia Premiership rookies Fedics United are at home to a wounded Black Africa at the Keetmanshoop Stadium (17h00).
The visitors will be out to restore some lost pride after last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Ramblers in the final of the FNB Knockout Cup in Windhoek, and Chacklas Engelbrecht’s charges could not have asked for a better platform to vent their frustration.
United have been showing signs of improvement after a slow start in their league campaign and the Southern lads are slowly coming to grips with the rigours of top-flight football that saw them losing their opening matches at home.
In their last home match, United claimed the scalps of title-chasing Eleven Arrows and the Southerners are determined to prove that the particular victory was no fluke.
The weekend’s top of the pick is without doubt the clash between defending champions Civics and their nemesis African Stars at the Ramblers stadium in Pionierspark tomorrow afternoon at 16h00.
Stars have proven over the past few seasons to be the Civilians’ hoodoo team with the Reds having come out tops in most of their encounters.
Helmuth Scharnowsky’s lads need to start collecting maximum points if they are to remain amongst the serious title contenders this season.
Going into round 7 of league activities, the race is still wide open and mathematically speaking, all the 12 teams in the MTC Namibia Premiership are still within a shot of staking a claim for the coveted league title at the end of the 2007/2008 season.