October 21, 1999 - Web posted at 09:59 a.m. GMT    

Pirates face do or die clash against Santos

Fighters tipped to beat Birds

CONRAD ANGULA

ORLANDO Pirates, who lost to BA 2-4 last week, have an excellent chance to redeem themselves when they engage a revitalised Marathon Sugar Chief Santos in a crucial cup encounter on Sunday.

The two giants of Namibian football, who have featured prominently in previous major cup competitions - especially during the 1970s, are set to clash in the Metropolitan Super champ Senior Cup.

And the encounter could not be at a better setting than the Mokati Stadium at Otjiwarongo - host venue for four other quarter-final outings in both the Senior as well as the Junior Cup.

Pirates, despite a brilliant opening 20 minutes which saw them taking a 2-0 lead over Black Africa, failed to maintain the advantage against their bitter foes at the Independence Stadium last Saturday.

The Lively Lions' perseverance in midfield saw the Sea Robbers engine-room losing control, while former Brave Warriors hero Lolo Goraseb gave a masterful display for the winners.

But with their league title hopes already shattered because of inconsistency this season, the Katutura Buccaneers know that they face a tough task against Santos at the weekend.

However, Pirates remain in the running for the more prestigious Windhoek Premium Lager NFA Cup after their 6-1 thrashing of Second Division outfit United Stars a couple of weeks ago.

But the big question now remains - can the Katutura giants recover soon enough from last Saturday's defeat by Black Africa to beat Santos - who have proved tricky opponents recently?

In addition, Santos have enjoyed a superb three-match winning streak since they beat team-of-the-moment Fabupharm Life Fighters 2-0 in a league outing at the Oscar Norich Stadium at Tsumeb three weeks ago.

The Copper Town Boys followed that up with an emphatic 7-1 trouncing of Sundowns in the NFA Cup a fortnight ago before they defeated northern rivals Chelsea last Saturday.

Pirates have excellent players who are capable of rising to the occasion and in captain Lesley 'Lucky' Kakuva - they have arguably the most versatile player in the country at the moment.

Kakuva, a former star with Santos, may be the player who could inspire the downfall of his ex-club. The young man could play his way into the national team ranks if he maintains his current form.

The hard-running Pirates' stalwart can expect ample support from the likes of midfielders Michael 'BMX' Pienaar and Bonny 'Bucksy' Uirab from the flanks while free-scoring striker Mabos 'Vialli' Ortmann is more then capable of punishing any mistakes made by the Santos rear-guard.

But Santos are not going to be an easy proposition - especially since midfielder-cum-striker Gerros 'The Bomber' Uri-khob is reported to have regained his form.

Uri-khob, the player-coach of the Nomtsoub outfit, will be hoping that his charges will continue building on their current winning run.

The bow-legged sharpshooter can bank on the support of midfielder George 'Alu' Hummel, defender Rodney 'Wallace' Doeseb and striker Ricardo Witbeen - who has been in outstanding form this season.

Meanwhile, in form Life Fighters are expected to stroll past Second Division club Mighty Birds in the last Senior Cup match of the day on Sunday. Kahirona, playing in front of their home crowd, will be relying on the lethal boots of strikers Lesley 'Trompies' Nganyone, Harry Kuhanga and Allion Gaweseb.

* Meanwhile, the Namibia Football Association has confirmed that technical advisor Rusten 'Sukhile' Mogane, team manager Bernhard 'Noree' Kaanjuka and physio Christopher Hentzen have been relieved of their duties with the national soccer team.

NFA spokesperson Sebastian 'Sepp' Kamungu said that the three officials were never contracted to the NFA "but have only been serving on a game-to-game basis for the period when their services were needed."

Kamungu added that the technical advisor, team manager and physio vacancies would be advertised to maintain transparency concerning positions with the national team. The three former officials are free to apply if they want to be hired on a long-term contract basis.