Ramblers Football Club remains at the summit of the MTC Namibia Premiership log standings without having to shed an ounce of sweat the weekend after both closest rivals Civics and Black Africa faltered when it mattered the most after completion of round six.
The weekend saw the Tunchel Street Boys taking a breather following their midweek clash with Orlando Pirates which ended in a 2-all stalemate last week.
Reigning champions Civics squandered a 2-goal lead before narrowly going down against a rejuvenated Tigers at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium on Friday.
The Civilians looked destined for a comfortable win after a goal apiece from their leading marksman William Chilufwya, and midfielder Tuyeni Tugela put the Khomasdal-based outfit in the driving seat for a 2-nil lead at the changeover.
With 20-minutes left on the clock, Tigers staged a remarkable comeback and stunned the noisy Civilians’ supporters with late goals through the boots of Tangeni Shipau and Tanzanian import Lubigiza Lubigiza, while Fanie Mathews delivered the killer blow to steer his team to a well deserved 3-2 victory. It was Tigers’ second successive win after an indifferent start to their league campaign this season.
The Donkerhoek Boys got off to a shaky start this season but the team’s management acted swiftly and roped in the services of Willem Kapukare as head coach and the former Liverpool player-coach responded positively with back-to-back wins since taking over the reins.
In another NPL match played under floodlights on Friday, Sport Klub Windhoek maintained their unbeaten run in the MTC Namibia Premiership this season when they defeated Black Africa 1-nil in a nail-biting clash at the SKW Stadium in Olympia.
The victory moved the Germans on par with log leaders Ramblers, Civics, Arrows and Black Africa on ten points apiece after six games with only goal difference separating the five top teams for the title race.
Across town, former Blue Waters’ defender Getzen Ndjiharine scored one of the fastest goals in domestic football when the stocky left back put African Stars ahead within the first 28 seconds against Oshakati City at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday.
The match was marred by robust play and missed chances with both sets of strikers appearing to have left their shooting boots at home.
The visitors levelled the scoreline in the 85th minute through a well-executed long range header by David Kleophas who out-jumped two defenders to lob the ball over the advancing Stars’ goalkeeper Ernst Kongoro.
Once again the men in black failed to stamp their authority on the proceedings with a significant number of dangerous tackles going unpunished and Stars’ Congo Hindjou found himself on the receiving end of some ungentlemanly play which prematurely ended his interest in the match early in the first half. Samson Kawawa stood firm in defence for City, while Jasmin “Ninja” Karongee pulled the strings in the midfield for the hosts.
Elsewhere, former Oshakati City striker Timotheus Ipinge’s lone strike propelled KM Eleven Arrows up the league table following a hard-fought 1-nil win over arch rivals APS Blue Waters in a coastal derby at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay, on Saturday.
Dawid Snewe’s Mighty Gunners recorded their first league win in top-flight football with a resounding 3-nil victory over fellow league rookies Fedics United at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.
As it stands, the race is still wide open and the competition is of such a nature that anyone from the 12 teams in the Namibia Premiership are still within a shot of challenging for the coveted league title with only seven points separating the chasing pack from tail enders APS Blue Waters, who remain winless with only three points from a possible 18.
Reigning champions Civics together with Black Africa and Eleven Arrows have recorded the most wins in the league so far with three victories apiece while both Ramblers and SKW could only muster two wins and four draws despite being unbeaten in their league campaign this season.
Katutura giants Tigers, Orlando Pirates and African Stars are tied on 8 points each with two wins and two draws while City trail behind in 9th place on 7 points – having won only once with four of their encounters ending in stalemates. League rookies Mighty Gunners are sitting on 6 points – three ahead of basement residents APS Blue Waters.
Ironically, 6th placed Tigers top the scoring charts in the Namibia Premiership with 11 goals to their credit while title-chasing and goal-shy SKW have scored the least number of goals after finding the opposition’s net four times only.
Bottom placed APS Blue Waters are amongst the third best scorers in the league with eight goals alongside Pirates, Civics and Arrows while leaders Ramblers have rattled the opponent’s net on nine occasions – two adrift of free-scoring Tigers.
League rookies Fedics United have conceded the most number of goals (14) to take the wooden spoon in the goal -scoring charts.