After playing to an action-packed goalless draw against the Copper Queens of Zambia in yesterday’s first leg of their 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifiers in Lusaka, Brave Gladiators captain Emma Naris said the fight is far from over, as they now prepare for the second leg with renewed vigour.

The encounter was a match of two corresponding halves, where both teams created plenty of goal scoring chances, but none could actually capitalise on their opportunities. 

Both teams did some superb defending and achieved enough to ensure the game ended 0-0 after 90-plus minutes of play at the Nkholoma Stadium. 

Reflecting on the match during the post-match interview, skipper Naris said they are happy with their overall performance and with how they contained a physical Zambian side, saying discipline was key on the day.

“The fight is far from over; we are now going to South Africa for the return leg and there we will have to finish what we started. We want to qualify for AWCON and we will fight for that. It was not an easy game but we kept them in a tight place, and made sure we did not lose the ball. We pressed them quite well; it’s just that we could not get the goals. We now go to South Africa and fight,” said a determined Naris. 

Namibia will face Zambia next week Tuesday, 22 February, for the return leg in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

The winner over two legs will qualify for the AWCON tournament that 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.

- ohembapu@nepc.com.na