Julinho Sporting FC head coach Nelson Luis said schoolboy errors and a lapse in concentration by his players led to their 2-4 defeat against Tura Magic at the Unam stadium during their Debmarine Namibia Premiership clash in the capital on Saturday.  

Magic ran amok as they cruised to a comfortable 4-2 win over Julinho thanks to a hattrick by Nehemiah Ndengu and a goal from Simon Elago, which ensured visiting Julinho returned home empty-handed. Harrison Kabembe and Johannes Braziliu were on target for the Rundu-based side. 

In a post-match interview, a disappointed Luis said his charges allowed Magic to score early goals and that made things very difficult for them as they could not recover nor turn the match around. He, however, hailed his side for scoring the two goals after having trailed 4-0.

“We conceded early goals and we tried to recover but it was difficult. We even tried pressing towards the end of the match but it was too late to turn things around. But from here, we just have to pick ourselves up and see how we can recover going forward,” said Luis.

Meanwhile, Magic’s gaffer Timo Tjongarero expressed satisfaction with the way his side played and how they executed their game plan, saying the main objective was to collect maximum points and that was achieved. 

He, however, admitted that it was not an easy win as Julinho gave them a good run for their money throughout the match, something he said his charges handled very well. 

“Yes, the boys handled the pressure very well and made use of all our opportunities to score those goals. We did quite well but we started giving the game away around the 70th minute and those silly mistakes late in the match allowed our opponents to score those two late goals,” said Tjongarero.

In other Saturday fixtures, Civics and Okahandja United played to a goalless draw at the SKW stadium, while Unam FC edged out Otjiwarongo outfit Life Fighters 2-0 at the Unam stadium. 

Debmarine Namibia Premiership log leaders African Stars on Saturday defeated Young African 1-0 away at the Legare stadium in Gobabis to maintain their strong run at the top of the table. 

Full results
Saturday, 18 February 

Tura Magic 4-2 Julinho Sporting 

Young African 0-1 African Stars

Civics 0-0 Okahandja United 

Unam 2-0 Life Fighters

-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na