NAMIBIA rode their luck to steal a march on their Cosafa Cup Group B rivals after beating a youthful Senegal 2-1 in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa yesterday.
The Brave Warriors had to dig deep to earn the victory against a vibrant and relentless Teranga Lions side whose average age is just 22.
In the end, experience told as strikes from Marcel Papama and then Elmo Kambindu ensured Namibia got off to the perfect start.
The Brave Warriors lead Pool B with three points on the board, followed by the Mozambique Mambas and Zimbabwe Warriors who have a point each earned from their goalless stalemate earlier yesterday.
“It’s a happy feeling [to win],” said man of the match Kambindu.
“It was a massive game. We knew what we had to do to win the game. We were brave, played as a team and won the game.”
It was the first time Namibia had defeated the West Africans in six attempts, having lost the previous five.
The lively Papama broke the deadlock 14 minutes into the first stanza, latching onto a through ball from Wesley Katjiteo to roll the ball beyond onrushing Senegal keeper Pape Ndiaye.
The lead lasted three minutes, after flying winger Albert Diene volleyed home a rebound from close range.
Kambindu nodded Namibia ahead again just after the break, meeting left back Aprocious Petrus’ whipped cross with a cushioned header at the near post.
Brave Warriors head coach Bobby Samaria said it was important that his side got off to a positive start to help them settle at the tournament.
“We did well. We have not achieved anything yet. First game is done and dusted. We are happy to have started with a win and look forward to the next game,” said Samaria.
“Namibian footballers are gifted, and when called upon they always deliver, and that’s what they did today.”
An unhappy Senegal coach Joseph Koto found the refereeing to have been substandard, which contributed to their defeat.
Senegal hit the woodwork twice in the opening half and had several near misses in the second, but could not find the cutting edge to breach the Namibian rearguard again.
They limited Namibia’s chances in the second half, with substitute Junias Theophilus scrapping the top of the crossbar on 80 minutes.
Moments later fellow sub Wendell Rudath niftily weaved past two defenders on the left flank before being foiled by a sprawling Ndiaye at the near post.
Namibia will next face Zimbabwe on Sunday with Senegal up against Mozambique on Saturday.
Nonetheless he believes his young charges will bounce back in their next three matches.
“I don’t want to talk about the referee. Unfortunately, we were disallowed penalty and a goal, so we’ll just prepare for the next game. We lost the game, there’s no excuse about it,” the veteran gaffer said.
DAY ONE
Meanwhile, substitute Kagiso Malinga netted a goal on debut as South Africa defeated Botswana 1-0, while Felix Badenhorst became the greatest goalscorer in Cosafa Cup history as Eswatini brushed aside Lesotho 3-1 on the opening day of the 2021 tournament at Gqeberha on Tuesday.
South Africa have a much-changed squad for the tournament, but managed to seal a narrow victory in a game of few chances in Group A.
Meanwhile, Eswatini defeated Lesotho 3-1 and in doing so their tall midfielder Badenhorst became the all-time leading scorer in the Cosafa Cup with nine goals.
That is one more than Zimbabwe legend Peter Ndlovu.
Badenhorst opened the scoring with a superb free kick on the angle, beating Lesotho goalkeeper Sekhoane Moerane at the near post.
But Lesotho were level before half-time when Tumelo Khutlang netted with a superb free kick of his own.
Eswatini made their numerical supremacy in the second half count though as first Khetokhule Mkhontfo put them ahead from close range as Lesotho failed to clear a long throw, and then Fanelo Mamba rifled home a third with 12 minutes remaining.
