Blue Waters snap up FNB Cup

BLUE Waters gave themselves a perfect Christmas gift by scooping the lucrative First National Bank (FNB) Cup, as they defeated a gutsy African Stars side 4-1 on penalties at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.

The coastal side emerged as winners after the full 90 minutes of play produced a 1-1 draw, while the extra 30 minutes could also not break the deadlock. On Friday, Blue Waters had to similarly settle for penalties against Civics after their semi-final match ended in a 0-0 draw at full-time.Blue Waters, who pocketed N$160 000, eventually won 5-4 after Civics defender Vladi Abrahams’s shot was fantastically saved by Blue Waters goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha.African Stars proved invincible in their semi-final tie against SKW, which they won 3-1 to book a date with Blue Waters for the first time in the competition.Stars, which turned 53 this year, received N$70 000 as consolation prize for being second best in the final, which attracted a huge crowd of spectators.Stars are yet to win a major trophy since they won the Metropolitan Challenge Cup in the early 1990s.They also featured in the NFA Cup final in 1996 but lost 2-1 to Tigers.In 1986, Stars also won the then Mainstay Cup against Blue Waters at the Katutura Stadium.In that match, Oscar Mengo scored a controversial goal that gave the team a 1-0 win, but this time Stars, despite digging deep on Saturday, failed to land what could have been a big achievement for mid-table dwellers in the premiership.The tricky and rather influential Blue Waters winger Meraai Swartbooi opened the scoring for his side, but Stars got lucky when Fisher Kalimba failed to clear to cause an own goal.Stars forward Freedom Puriza stood out with his attacking runs, constantly creating havoc in the Blue Waters defence.Armando Pedro had little room to shoot for target for most of the match, while Swartbooi also tried in vain to turn the game in their favour despite his telling passes and crosses.Although not as sparkling a final as expected, the players competed well to keep possession, while referee Arvo Mufeti controlled matters with no real difficulty.Blue Waters coach Shepherd Murape was as excited as his players as they all chased after him to carry him on their shoulders for producing a winning team.Blue Waters were back-to-back league winners in 2002 and 2003 and their last trophy was the MTC Cup in 2003, which they won against Civics on home ground.The team took the prizes for coach of the tournament, best goalkeeper award (Mbaha) and player of the tournament (Swartbooi).SKW and Civics received N$20 000 for their performance in the semi-finals.There were no third- and fourth-place matches.The event was spiced up with musical performances by various local artists at the end of the game, while former South African footballer Lucas Radebe also made an appearance at the invitation of First National Bank.He assisted in the awarding of medals to teams and the trophy at the post-match presentation.* The Namibia Football Association (NFA) at the weekend announced that the MTC NFA Cup draw will take place at Soccer House on December 21 at 11h00.A total of 33 clubs, consisting of 16 premiership teams, four Nation Wide First Division teams and 13 regional second-division clubs will participate in the competition.On Friday, Blue Waters had to similarly settle for penalties against Civics after their semi-final match ended in a 0-0 draw at full-time.Blue Waters, who pocketed N$160 000, eventually won 5-4 after Civics defender Vladi Abrahams’s shot was fantastically saved by Blue Waters goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha.African Stars proved invincible in their semi-final tie against SKW, which they won 3-1 to book a date with Blue Waters for the first time in the competition.Stars, which turned 53 this year, received N$70 000 as consolation prize for being second best in the final, which attracted a huge crowd of spectators.Stars are yet to win a major trophy since they won the Metropolitan Challenge Cup in the early 1990s.They also featured in the NFA Cup final in 1996 but lost 2-1 to Tigers.In 1986, Stars also won the then Mainstay Cup against Blue Waters at the Katutura Stadium.In that match, Oscar Mengo scored a controversial goal that gave the team a 1-0 win, but this time Stars, despite digging deep on Saturday, failed to land what could have been a big achievement for mid-table dwellers in the premiership.The tricky and rather influential Blue Waters winger Meraai Swartbooi opened the scoring for his side, but Stars got lucky when Fisher Kalimba failed to clear to cause an own goal.Stars forward Freedom Puriza stood out with his attacking runs, constantly creating havoc in the Blue Waters defence.Armando Pedro had little room to shoot for target for most of the match, while Swartbooi also tried in vain to turn the game in their favour despite his telling passes and crosses.Although not as sparkling a final as expected, the players competed well to keep possession, while referee Arvo Mufeti controlled matters with no real difficulty.Blue Waters coach Shepherd Murape was as excited as his players as they all chased after him to carry him on their shoulders for producing a winning team.Blue Waters were back-to-back league winners in 2002 and 2003 and their last trophy was the MTC Cup in 2003, which they won against Civics on home ground.The team took the prizes for coach of the tournament, best goalkeeper award (Mbaha) and player of the tournament (Swartbooi).SKW and Civics received N$20 000 for their performance in the semi-finals.There were no third- and fourth-place matches.The event was spiced up with musical performances by various local artists at the end of the game, while former South African footballer Lucas Radebe also made an appearance at the invitation of First National Bank.He assisted in the awarding of medals to teams and the trophy at the post-match presentation.* The Namibia Football Association (NFA) at the weekend announced that the MTC NFA Cup draw will take place at Soccer House on December 21 at 11h00.A total of 33 clubs, consisting of 16 premiership teams, four Nation Wide First Division teams and 13 regional second-division clubs will participate in the competition.