Brave Gladiators, DRC draw 3-all

NAMIBIA’S Brave Gladiators fought their way back to draw 3-all against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a laid-back 2008 Olympic Games qualifier at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday.

Namibian right-winger Leandri Lucas opened the scoring in the early minutes of the game by heading the ball into an empty goal after beating DRC goalkeeper to a high ball, but the Yvonne Malembo pulled one back midway through the first half for the visitors. Malembo found her way around Namibian goalie Bonnitta Eixas to cleanly put her shot away.But after that, the visitors extend their lead through Kiadli Wambo who made mincemeat of the Namibian defence to give her side a 2-1 lead before going for the break.The first half was not all well for the Namibians as they chased the shadows of their visitors who looked more composed in most of their moves.The Namibian defence did well on the day to fend off most of the challenges posed by the visitors.There was the DRC left-winger Malembo, who made incisive runs into the Namibian box, but this was not with much success as defenders, Queen Manga, Stehani Hummel and Sussana Eises were on their toes to keep it clean at the back.In fact, Namibia played a more defensive game in the first half, but they seemed to have sorted themselves out in the second half with the ball more in midfield and among the strikers.This led to an equaliser by Stella Williams who found herself unmarked in the box after a well-timed through-pass.She put the ball to good use, sending the Namibian crowd of at least 1 500 people into some short-lived celebration.The DRC had unfinished business in the last quarter of the match, with their striker, Wambo, once again on target, beating the Namibian goalie from close range.The mistake came from the midfielders who were ball watching, as the opposition was building up their move to score.But Namibia found themselves on the positive side again when the stocky dribbling wizard Juliana Skrywer, made sure to put away the ball after a precise pass from Williams in the box.This goal was scored towards the end of the match and coach Jacqui Shipanga said she was overwhelmed by the guts and determination of the girls to come back from near defeat.Also on the day, there were at least seven injuries to players that constantly delayed the match as the players had to be carried off the field, despite picking up only minor injuries that saw them return to the field again.At two occasions, Namibian goalie, Eixas was involved in collisions, but came out unhurt despite demonstrating a lot of pain.The win now puts the home side in a favourable position, as they will only be required to score one goal when they play away in Kinshasa on March 10.They should, however, not concede any goals.Malembo found her way around Namibian goalie Bonnitta Eixas to cleanly put her shot away.But after that, the visitors extend their lead through Kiadli Wambo who made mincemeat of the Namibian defence to give her side a 2-1 lead before going for the break.The first half was not all well for the Namibians as they chased the shadows of their visitors who looked more composed in most of their moves.The Namibian defence did well on the day to fend off most of the challenges posed by the visitors.There was the DRC left-winger Malembo, who made incisive runs into the Namibian box, but this was not with much success as defenders, Queen Manga, Stehani Hummel and Sussana Eises were on their toes to keep it clean at the back.In fact, Namibia played a more defensive game in the first half, but they seemed to have sorted themselves out in the second half with the ball more in midfield and among the strikers.This led to an equaliser by Stella Williams who found herself unmarked in the box after a well-timed through-pass.She put the ball to good use, sending the Namibian crowd of at least 1 500 people into some short-lived celebration.The DRC had unfinished business in the last quarter of the match, with their striker, Wambo, once again on target, beating the Namibian goalie from close range.The mistake came from the midfielders who were ball watching, as the opposition was building up their move to score.But Namibia found themselves on the positive side again when the stocky dribbling wizard Juliana Skrywer, made sure to put away the ball after a precise pass from Williams in the box.This goal was scored towards the end of the match and coach Jacqui Shipanga said she was overwhelmed by the guts and determination of the girls to come back from near defeat.Also on the day, there were at least seven injuries to players that constantly delayed the match as the players had to be carried off the field, despite picking up only minor injuries that saw them return to the field again.At two occasions, Namibian goalie, Eixas was involved in collisions, but came out unhurt despite demonstrating a lot of pain.The win now puts the home side in a favourable position, as they will only be required to score one goal when they play away in Kinshasa on March 10.They should, however, not concede any goals.