Otniel Hembapu
Namibia’s Young Warriors yesterday squandered a perfect two-goal lead on their way to an embarrassing 2-5 defeat against a resilient South African side at the Mavuso stadium in Manzini, Eswatini.
The two regional rivals met yesterday for their Group C clash of the 2022 Cosafa U/20 Cup and saw Namibia opening the lead through Alberto Van Wyk in the opening minute of the game. The goal unsettled the South Africans who took long to get into their usual passing game as the Namibians continued to frustrate them.
A goal did come for South Africans in the 17th minute after Brenden Duba did well to connect to a set piece with a header to level matters.
The lead was restored at the half hour mark when a set piece by the Namibians saw Lawrence Doeseb finishing off a rebounded effort into the net to give his side the advantage before the break.
Parity was again restored a minute into the second half when Oshwin Andries found himself in a good scoring position to send a grass cutting effort into the far post to bring the South Africans back into the game.
Andries was on the scoresheet again in the 54th minute after capitalising on a mishandled shot by the keeper for the skipper to get his second goal and give his side the lead.
With momentum on their side, South Africa continued surging forward in search of more goals and were duly rewarded for their efforts with two late goals by Luke Daniels in the 85th minute as well as Relebohile Ratomo in the 90th minute to give a 5-2 win and a chance at qualification. The Young Warriors will tomorrow face Malawi for their final group clash.
This year’s tournament is acting as a zonal qualifier for the 2023 U/20 Africa Cup of Nations slated for Egypt from 14 February to 6 March, with the two finalists of this year’s Cosafa U/20 set to advance to the continental showpiece.
-ohembapu@nepc.com.na