Carlos Kambaekwa
Windhoek-With quite a sizeable amount of 19 rounds of matches already under the belt in the hotly contested MTC Premiership, boys are now being separated from the men.
After a slow start to their league campaign that saw them mired at the bottom half of the country’s flagship football league – reigning Namibian champions Tigers have finally come out of their shell with impressive performances reminiscent of the invincible side that swept their opponents aside to claim the elusive MTC Premiership title, last term.
Under the stewardship of much-travelled shrewd mentor Woody Jacobs, son of the late Chiccito pop band front man bro “Skwakes”, “Ingwe” have sent a stern warning to their competitors with back-to-back victories over title rivals Young African and Black Africa, respectively.
Jacobs, installed halfway through the first round, has developed a unique style of play with all the teams he has mentored and is currently ranked among the best coaches in the business.
Faced with an insurmountable gulf of 17-point difference off the pace from the summit – Ingwe can mathematically take solace from the fact that they still have two outstanding winnable fixtures in hand against Citizens and UNAM.
Mid-table Eleven Arrows recorded the biggest victory in the country’s topflight football league in recent years – dispatching a hapless Chief Santos 8-1 in a one-sided match at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay on Sunday.
The cricket-score defeat left the toothless Copper Town Lads sprawling on the turf in bottom spot.
Table toppers, African Stars, returned to winning ways after a winless run in their opening four matches in the second round that left Bobby Samaria’s early pace-setters collecting a paltry tally of 3-points from a possible 12.
The Reds dusted themselves off following their shock Saturday defeat at the hands of lowly placed Citizens with a hard fought 1-0 triumph over UNAM, on Sunday.
MTC Premiership surprise package Young African remains serious title contenders despite suffering defeat against champions Tigers on Saturday. The boys from the Cattle Country saw off Tura Magic by 2 unanswered goals to retain second spot on the log table.
Mighty Gunners also collected maximum points in last weekend’s action. The men in camouflaged uniform had the better of the exchanges in their local derby against bitter rivals Life Fighters (3-0) before defeating the visiting Orlando Pirates via a solitary strike.
Rundu Chiefs slightly eased their relegation worries with back-to-back draws (1-1) against the visiting Orlando Pirates and Life Fighters, respectively.