2017-12-13Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Windhoek Namibia’s Under-20 side, the Young Warriors, on Sunday lost their second Group C match 2-1 against Lesotho at the Nkana Stadium in Kitwe and will have to beat Zimbabwe today to in order to boost their hopes of reaching the semifinals at the 2017 Cosafa U/20 Cup underway in Zambia. Namibia came into the game on Sunday leading Group C after beating Angola 1-0 on Friday and Lesotho were next to face Namibia on Sunday. Lesotho drew 0-0 against Zimbabwe on Thursday, thus the second game on Sunday was a chance for Gerald Guther and his side to edge closer to the semifinals or for Lesotho to get back into contention. Lesotho were all over Namibia in the first half, but the boys defended well until halftime with Lesotho reduced to 10 men as they had Rabs Mobane sent off on 41 minutes for a reckless change on Rivaldo Festus. In the second half, Guther introduced Romario Hawiseb for the ineffective Enzo Mungendje, who scored in the Angola victory, and on 64 minutes the substitute got his goal, as Namibia made their numerical advantage count. Hawiseb volleyed home at the near post after a counterattack and sloppy Lesotho defending. However, on 70 minutes Lesotho got the equaliser through Koloti Roboama and he completed his brace on 76 minutes as the game ended 2-1 in favour of Lesotho. In his match analyses, a gutted Guther said the team did not pitch on the day and Lesotho deserved their victory. “From the word go, our boys did not compete at all. Lesotho played football from the 1980s: Put in long and play physical. Our boys could not handle that. After we went 1-0 up we got complacent and they came back. Our key players did not pull their weight and Lesotho worked very hard for their win”, Guther explained. Lesotho now sit top of Group C on four points with Namibia in second place on three points, ahead of Zimbabwe and Angola. The Young Warriors will have to beat Zimbabwe in today’s game as only the group winner and the first runner-up from the three groups go through to the semifinals. ======================= 2017-12-13Staff Report 2
