LOG leaders Black Africa are not worried about African Stars’ recent resurgence or the rest of the chasing pack’s ambitions, says their technical director Brian Isaacs.
Isaacs said his side a far from rattled, even though BA ‘s nine-point cushion was sized down to just six by African Stars over the weekend when they edged bottom side United Stars 1-0. Nonetheless, the champions still expect a stern test of their character when they welcome Tigers at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tonight.Isaacs believes Tigers pose a similar threat to that of Sport Klub Windhoek, who held them to a two-all draw in their second round opener. “We know our objectives and we are not worried about what our rivals are doing. What we worry about is the next game,” Isaacs told The Namibian Sport yesterday.“We want to win all our remaining matches so we can maintain our unbeaten record and defend our title.”Tigers are placed fifth on the log with 20 points, ten adrift of Black Africa. Their scheduled weekend fixture against Mighty Gunners was called of due to a waterlogged SKW Stadium pitch, and head into the encounter on the back of a hard-fought 2-2 draw at United Stars on the opening weekend of the second round. However BA got valuable game time on Sunday when they beat German Bundesliga Hoffenheim’s U/23 side 3-1 in a practice match at tonight’s venue.The battle is likely to be won by the side that controls the midfield. Tigers bolstered their engine room with the experienced former Civics midfielder Tugela Tuyeni, and Ndile Ekane and Eduardo Eiseb from Orlando Pirates and Hotspurs respectively.However BA’s settled combination of Brian Bantam, Denzil Haoseb, Eslin Kamuhanga and Willy Stefanus are expected to come out on top. “These games are always difficult. Everyone wants to beat BA. We got a wake-up call against SKW so now we must prepare ourselves to be cautious and more determined to win,” said Isaacs. Isaacs also said he intends to make regular use of the youngsters who impressed during the triumphant runout against the Hoffenheim reserves. He said they have added depth to an already compact side.“These youngsters give us options when we have injuries. I was very impressed with the way they played against the German team. They deserve to get more games in the first team.”
