Although the Brave Gladiators agonisingly missed out on a crucial opportunity to book themselves a place at this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, an optimistic coach Woody Jacobs says the future looks bright for his girls as yesterday’s clash was a monumental learning curve.
The Gladiators, who at one point looked well set for victory in the final-round qualifier, were punished for their lapse of concentration in the dying minutes of the action-packed encounter as substitute Siomala Mapepa equalised in the 70th minute to steer Zambia to a vital win.
Namibia was first to draw blood, thanks to captain Emma Naris’ 6th minute effort, which saw the spirited Gladiators heading into the changeover with a comfortable 1-0 lead.
The second half was a whole different ball game for the Gladiators as the fighting Copper Queens unleashed attacks from all angles, and it continuously proved to be the Gladiators’ biggest Achilles heel as they struggled to absorb the pressure.
The very physical and tactically well-oiled Zambians kept paddling forward, and their undying efforts were rewarded when Mapepa pounced on a loose ball and beat two Namibian defenders before burying the ball into the left corner to level matters.
Despite numerous attempts by the Gladiators in the last minutes, the score remained 1-1, and saw Zambia automatically qualifying for this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) as a result of the away-goal advantage.
The two teams played to a goalless draw in the first leg of the competition last Wednesday in Lusaka, and that first-leg result played in Zambia’s favour.
Reflecting on yesterday’s disheartening outcome, Jacobs admitted that it is painful seeing his team not qualifying for this year’s AWCON, especially given all the hard work and preparations they have put in. But he remains optimistic about the future.
“My girls really tried their level best, and kept the lead for the entire opening half. But we unfortunately threw it away in the last minutes, and we got punished for it. With this away goal advantage rules, it is always important to take your chances and make sure that you put the game away while you still have the chance. We tried, but things didn’t go our way,” said Jacobs.
“As disappointing as it is, I’m still happy with how the girls fought and from here, going forward, I can only say the future looks bright for our women’s football. We have a very promising team in this group of girls.”
The 2022 AWCON will run from 2-23 July in Morocco. It also doubles as the African qualifiers to the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
Zambia previously reached the 2014 and 2018 editions of the AWCON, while Namibia’s only appearance came in 2014 when the country hosted the tournament.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na