By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK
Ramblers came from two goals down to defeat a stubborn Tigers outfit in an entertaining MTC Namibia Premiership clash at the Sam Nujoma stadium in Katutura last night.
Tigers signalled their intentions as early as the 3rd minute when former Brave Warriors’ defender Jason ”Khumalo” Petrus tested Lucas Hashiti in Ramblers goal with a fierce free kick but the agile net minder was equal to the task.
Pint-sized midfielder Leonard Kwambi Stanley slipped a telling pass through the flatfooted Ramblers rearguard and Tangeni Shipahu made no mistake – beating Hashiti hands down with a low drive in the 7th minute.
The static Ramblers defence were always beaten for pace with Eliphas Heita pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
At the other end, John Samson proved a constant thorn in the flesh of Tigers’ defence but wayward shooting proved to be the Sierra Leone’s striker own enemy.
Shipahu was presented with a golden chance to complete his brace but the talented striker shot wildly after he intercepted Dicky Akwenye’s cheeky pass.
Ramblers were heavily exposed on the left side of defenc with former Tigers defender Jeremiah Baisako’s forays leaving a huge gap at the back, but the usually composed Leonard failed to exploit the many chances that came his way.
Tigers made a forced change to their starting lineup, replacing the injured Petrus with Alfred Musonda and the move immediately paid dividends when Neville Nanub stretched Tigers’ lead with a beautifully taken goal in the 34th minute.
The former Orlando Pirates’ midfielder masterly controlled the ball with his chest before volleying home from an acute angle.
Pineas Jacobs missed a glorious chance to reduce the deficit after some good work down the right by the hardworking Hans Witbooi, but the skillful striker elected to pass the ball when a shot at goal seemed to be the better option.
With halftime approaching, Rammies started to gain momentum with tireless Witbooi at the heart of their many attacks.
The Tunchel Street Boys were awarded a corner kick with four minutes before the changeover and the ever-alert Samson beat Fox Nambundunga with a powerful header from the resulted set piece to reduce the deficit.
Rammies came out blazing after the second half and were on level terms immediately after the restart when Jacobs left the ball watching Tigers’ defenc for dead before slotting past a hapless Nambundunga.
Six minutes later, the former Tigers striker was back in the picture again when he latched onto a cleverly executed lobbed ball by Mahne Martins to put Ramblers ahead for the first time in the match.
The goal seemed to take the steam out of the Donkerhoek-based outfit as they opted to apply the offside trap with catastrophic consequences and had it not been for the wasteful Ramblers’ striking pair of Samson and Akwenye, aided by Nambundunga’s bravery between the sticks, the scoreboard could have read differently at the end of the match.
Tigers’ defender Mike Tembo must consider himself very lucky to have stayed on the pitch after a deliberate handball which under normal circumstances would have earned him a straight red card but referee Alex Tiyeho instead flashed a caution.
Samson wasted another golden opportunity to put the result beyond any doubt with the over eager striker hitting the advertising boards after he outpaced Tembo in the dying minutes of regulation time, while Leonard ballooned the ball over the crossbar from an inviting position deep in injury time.
Ramblers made two changes from the lineup that started in last weekend’s victory against Black Africa in the final of the FNB Cup, with defender Dylan Mieze and midfielder Raymond Lolliepop Awaseb replacing injured captain Michael Pienaar and Licius Hafeni respectively.
The victory moved Ramblers to the summit of the MTC Namibia Premiership log standing on 13 points – three clear of closest challengers Eleven Arrows, Black Africa, SKW and defending champions Civics who all have a game in hand.