Big guns through to semis

AS expected, premier league sides made it through to the semi-finals of the Cell One NFA Cup after quarter final clashes in Windhoek and Walvis Bay at the weekend respectively.

But the biggest upset on Saturday was the 1-0 loss of African Stars that their Katutura counterparts Orlando Pirates inflicted on them at a packed Independence Stadium.Before that, Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) handsomely routed lower division outfit Bingo FC 5-2, while in Walvis Bay,Ramblers and Eleven Arrows also secured their semi-final berths through victories.Ramblers were first to go through on the day with a 3-2 victory over Blue Waters on penalties, after a goalless draw in the normal playing time, while Arrows had no mercy for Newcastle United by sending them back to Tsumeb with a 6-0 drubbing in the second match at the Kuisebmond Stadium.Predictably, SKW, Ramblers and Arrows were already secured of their entry into the second last stage of the tournament after being drawn against lower division opponents, but it was the match between Stars and Pirates which could not be pre-determined.Hordes of fans of both clubs thronged the Olympia-based venue in a sea of red, black and white resembling the colours of the two Katutura powerhouses.CLASSIC KLAASStars had their off-side trap heavily exposed by the stocky Pirates midfield dynamo Klaas Blom who fired past Stars goalie Max Mbaeva to give his side a 1-0 lead midway through the first half, a goal that remained until the final whistle.The win was enough to secure the Buccaneers one of the four places in the semis in a rather tense match which also had a lot of dramatic moments on end Pirates were possibly the better side on the night as they turned the screws on Stars with vicious attacks from the centre of the park, while the Stars defence did back down easily as they opted for quick counter-attacks instead.Johannes Seibeb for Pirates and Gazza Kazerua for Stars were the two players who came the closest to scoring for their sides, but a lack of composure infront of goal led them down and they had their shots way off target.Seibeb’s cross flew over the crossbar, while Kazerua kept it wayward off the goal.Overall Stars lost most of their battles in midfield with the Pirates trio of Seibeb, Blom and Meraai Swartbooi calling the shots.In fact, Pirates had to do without their captain Eric Aoseb for most of the match who was replaced due to an injury, while his replacement, George Tsamaseb held on very well this time compared to his somewhat nightmarish match against Oshakati City a week earlier.Stars coach Bobby Samaria admitted that it was not one of the finest performances from his charges who rather looked too unsure about their chances of making it through.Samaria simply said: ‘You win some and you lose some” after the match.The former Black Africa mentor who has won five consecutive cup competitions in two season with that side, can however still look forward to the league title which will be decided by mid June.He has to go back to the drawing board and try to instill a sense of winning into his team which seem to have been crumbling in their past few matches.Stars earlier this season went for 12 undefeated matches in the league on the trot and their recent shaky form has come under the microscope, with questions of fatigue being asked despite sitting comfortably in second spot, two points adrift from leaders SKW on the log. OTHER SCORERSIn other matches, Arrows’ golden boy Rudolf Bester fired home a hat-trick to spur his side to a great win, while co-striker Muna Katupose, defender Bobby Kaapama and striker Edward Damaseb each grabbed one.Arrows were effectively in control of the encounter form the onset and this competition will prove to be their only chance to collect further silverware apart from the FNB Cup, which is a seasonal curtain-raiser.Arrows will be hoping to land the lucrative Cell One NFA Cup which has a hefty N$500 000 at stake, because their chances of making it to the top of the table in the league are becoming slimmer with only five matches to go before the season ends. corry@namibian.com.na