Blue Waters are league champs

BLUE WATERS ended their emphatic run in domestic football on a high note as they comfortably beat XI Arrows 3-1 to scoop the 2004 Namibia Premier League title at Walvis Bay on Saturday.

The coastal side only needed a draw to bag the title for the second time ahead of Civics who were also in contention. Liverpool joined My Dae Chiefs as they were relegated despite their 2-0 win over Tigers at the SKW Stadium on Saturday.Both Liverpool and My Dae Chiefs will play in the Central West First Division.Blue Waters ended the league on 72 points from a total of 30 matches, with Civics in second place with 69 points.Orlando Pirates held on to third spot with 62 points after beating Friends 4-2 in their last match played at the Independence Stadium on Friday.Blue Waters only lost twice during the 2003/4 season and has won 22 matches with six draws.Blue Waters coach Zimbabwean Shepherd Murape took his first title at the helm of the team that looked more sharper in their play while their discipline also improved throughout the season.Murape took over from Lucky Shipanga who is now in charge of Blue Birds, the feeder team of the Blue Waters.Blue Waters this season also landed the MTC Cup, but missed out in both the NFA Cup and the Sam Nujoma New Era Cup.After the victory on Saturday, fans of Blue Waters at the Kuisebmund Stadium burst into celebration.Managing Director of Blue Waters, Hendrik Dawids told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the win meant a lot for him and his management team.”It was really great to win the title and I thank my management, sponsors and the supporters for their contribution to make this a reality,” he said.He mentioned the main sponsors, Hangana Seafood as well as Mascato and Blue Sea Fishing for assisting the team financially.He said the side is planning to sign a co-operation agreement with a team from Switzerland next month, to enable players to play in that country.He said Murape will keep his job for now as he has done well, but said they will need to acquire more players to further strengthen the team.The Administrative Secretary of Civics, Tim Isaacs yesterday congratulated Blue Waters for their victory and acknowledged that they should blame themselves for not winning all their matches.He said they could have been champions if they could have obtained maximum points against Friends, Chief Santos and Orlando Pirates in their league matches.”There can only be one winner and Blue Waters are the ones.We will try again next season,” he said.In other matches, Oshakati City went past Benfica with a 6-1 victory on Saturday at Oshakati, while Golden Bees got the better of Chief Santos with a 3-1 win at Etosha Poort in Outjo.Oshakati City’s coach, Bafana Subeb told Nampa after the match that: “I was called in three months ago to come and save the team from the relegation.We fought so hard together and now we have made it”.He added that what remains is for the team to prepare well for the next season.Subeb attributed Oshakati City’s poor performance at the beginning of the season to indiscipline among the players.”This problem has been dealt with accordingly and will be avoided at all costs during the next season,” said Subeb.My Dae Chiefs ended their poor run in the league on a high note by defeating Black Africa 4-1 at Gobabis, while Life Fighters surprised Ramblers, ending as 6-5 winners at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.Liverpool joined My Dae Chiefs as they were relegated despite their 2-0 win over Tigers at the SKW Stadium on Saturday.Both Liverpool and My Dae Chiefs will play in the Central West First Division.Blue Waters ended the league on 72 points from a total of 30 matches, with Civics in second place with 69 points.Orlando Pirates held on to third spot with 62 points after beating Friends 4-2 in their last match played at the Independence Stadium on Friday.Blue Waters only lost twice during the 2003/4 season and has won 22 matches with six draws.Blue Waters coach Zimbabwean Shepherd Murape took his first title at the helm of the team that looked more sharper in their play while their discipline also improved throughout the season.Murape took over from Lucky Shipanga who is now in charge of Blue Birds, the feeder team of the Blue Waters.Blue Waters this season also landed the MTC Cup, but missed out in both the NFA Cup and the Sam Nujoma New Era Cup.After the victory on Saturday, fans of Blue Waters at the Kuisebmund Stadium burst into celebration.Managing Director of Blue Waters, Hendrik Dawids told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the win meant a lot for him and his management team.”It was really great to win the title and I thank my management, sponsors and the supporters for their contribution to make this a reality,” he said.He mentioned the main sponsors, Hangana Seafood as well as Mascato and Blue Sea Fishing for assisting the team financially.He said the side is planning to sign a co-operation agreement with a team from Switzerland next month, to enable players to play in that country.He said Murape will keep his job for now as he has done well, but said they will need to acquire more players to further strengthen the team.The Administrative Secretary of Civics, Tim Isaacs yesterday congratulated Blue Waters for their victory and acknowledged that they should blame themselves for not winning all their matches.He said they could have been champions if they could have obtained maximum points against Friends, Chief Santos and Orlando Pirates in their league matches.”There can only be one winner and Blue Waters are the ones.We will try again next season,” he said.In other matches, Oshakati City went past Benfica with a 6-1 victory on Saturday at Oshakati, while Golden Bees got the better of Chief Santos with a 3-1 win at Etosha Poort in Outjo.Oshakati City’s coach, Bafana Subeb told Nampa after the match that: “I was called in three months ago to come and save the team from the relegation.We fought so hard together and now we have made it”.He added that what remains is for the team to prepare well for the next season.Subeb attributed Oshakati City’s poor performance at the beginning of the season to indiscipline among the players.”This problem has been dealt with accordingly and will be avoided at all costs during the next season,” said Subeb.My Dae Chiefs ended their poor run in the league on a high note by defeating Black Africa 4-1 at Gobabis, while Life Fighters surprised Ramblers, ending as 6-5 winners at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.