Warriors in tough assignment

By: SHEEFENI NIKODEMUS

THE Brave Warriors face a stern test of character when they kick-off their African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign against Gambia tomorrow.

With their preparations in shambles -stranded in Ghana, unfit, and missing key personnel- the team will be hard pressed to record a satisfactory result in Banjul, a tropical location currently experiencing a period of hot weather, and in the middle of it’s rainy season.

Having not trained since last Friday, the team finally had its first kick-about Wednesday afternoon, in Accra, while waiting for a connecting flight. 

However the circumstances left a lot to be desired as a training pitch had not been booked, and one had to be found at the last minute, leaving the technical team to hastily arrange for training on a bumpy and unevenly grassed school pitch. 

With only 13 players at his disposal, team coach Tom Sainfiet, is a frustrated man, as he said, the situation meant the team would struggle on match day. The Belgian is hoping that his foreign legion -brothers Oliver and Wilko Risser, Collin Benjamin, Henrico Botes and Tangeni Shipahu-  can carry the rest of the team against the powerful Gambians.

Injury to his main attacking weapon, Rudolf Bester, and the withdrawal of Razundara Tjikuzu,and subsequent retirement of veterans Paulus Shipanga and George Hummel further dented his plans. 

“The moment we are on the pitch we will work hard and I will still go for a good result, but we have to be realistic and at the moment the odds are against us. 

“We will need a lot of luck on our side, and everyone will have to be ready for it, to get a good result against Gambia,” he said.

Despite the poor preparation and organisation, Saintfiet remained upbeat and was relieved to have had his first training session underway. The squad had another training session yesterday morning before departing for Gambia.

“We wanted to train twice today (Wednesday) but because of the travel and arrival we were not able to do that,” he said.

The players have reportedly adapted well to the hot and humid in Accra, which are similar to those in Gambia, and remain in high spirits ahead of the crucial match.

“We will only arrive at our hotel at about 03h00 in the morning, so we will first need a good rest before our final training session on Friday (today) afternoon. 

There we will also for the first time have the full squad together with the foreign based players,” said Saintfiet. 

Gambia boasts a number of stars in US Major League Soccer, Scandinavia and eastern Europe. The west Africans are ranked 12 places above the Brave Warrios according to Fifa rankings. - Additional reporting by namibiasport.com.na

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