Brave Warriors technically sound

SOUND technical awareness was the main contributing factor to the Brave Warriors’ much-celebrated victory over Libya on Saturday.

This is the opinion of former players who were interviewed after the Africa Cup of Nations encounter. It will go down in history that Namibia defeated Libya 1-0 at the Independence Stadium, thanks to German-based midfield kingpin Collin ‘Chippa’ Benjamin, who was deployed as a lone striker during Saturday’s match.While some people argued that the home side did not dominate throughout the encounter, they were happy with the technical discipline of the players.It was clear from the starting whistle that the Brave Warriors did not want to allow their opponents much space in front of their goal and the packed midfield of five players further strengthened the argument that they were looking for a clean sheet.It was obvious that Zambian-born coach Ben Bamfuchile did his homework thoroughly on how to counter the visitors’ short-and-quick passing game by locking out their strikers, who were restricted to long-range shots throughout the match.In addition, midfield playmaker Letu Shatimuene, who played a sterling game against Zambia a fortnight ago, was deployed on the right side of midfield to bring balance to the team which had Jomo Cosmos ace Sidney Plaatjies on the left.The decision to play Shatimuene on the right must have come as a surprise for the visitors who, if they had a spy at the friendly encounter against Zambia, expected the Tigers FC midfielder to play in the centre of midfield.The engine room was further boosted by the presence of 98 Africa Cup of Nations finals hero Robert ‘Baggio’ Nauseb, Angola-based playmaker Meraai Swartbooi and the no-nonsense Olivier Risser, who plays for a German lower-division side Bonner FC.Nauseb, who plies his trade in the jersey of Santos in the South African Premier Soccer League, brought valuable experience to the side and his tough tackling and superb ball distribution made him one of the mainstays of the Brave Warriors side.The experienced pair of Michael ‘Brixton Tower’ Pienaar of Ramblers FC and Hartman Toromba, who is registered with Black Leopards FC in the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, also had a rock-solid performance, unlike in the match against Zambia.Gottlieb Nakuta of Blue Waters FC and Namibian champions Civics’ Franklin April provided excellent cover to the two central defenders.Nakuta, despite playing in an official international for the first time, did not set a foot wrong while April had a more difficult task to close keep check on Libya’s danger man Ali Rahuma, who proved to be a very difficult customer in position.In goal Bamfuchile counted on the agility of Jomo Cosmos FC’s Abisai ‘Zico’ Shiningayamwe, who rewarded the coach’s trust in him with a clean sheet, despite the visitors twice denting the woodwork around him.The general feeling is that Bamfuchile has found a steady 11, which has an excellent mixture of youth and experience, and he must just continue his hunt for a prolific striker in order to have a solid starting line-up.In the final analysis, Namibia is ready and prepared to compete on international level, but there is a lot of room for improvement.Bamfuchile and his technical team must be allowed time and space to groom the team and there is hope for the future.It will go down in history that Namibia defeated Libya 1-0 at the Independence Stadium, thanks to German-based midfield kingpin Collin ‘Chippa’ Benjamin, who was deployed as a lone striker during Saturday’s match.While some people argued that the home side did not dominate throughout the encounter, they were happy with the technical discipline of the players.It was clear from the starting whistle that the Brave Warriors did not want to allow their opponents much space in front of their goal and the packed midfield of five players further strengthened the argument that they were looking for a clean sheet.It was obvious that Zambian-born coach Ben Bamfuchile did his homework thoroughly on how to counter the visitors’ short-and-quick passing game by locking out their strikers, who were restricted to long-range shots throughout the match.In addition, midfield playmaker Letu Shatimuene, who played a sterling game against Zambia a fortnight ago, was deployed on the right side of midfield to bring balance to the team which had Jomo Cosmos ace Sidney Plaatjies on the left.The decision to play Shatimuene on the right must have come as a surprise for the visitors who, if they had a spy at the friendly encounter against Zambia, expected the Tigers FC midfielder to play in the centre of midfield.The engine room was further boosted by the presence of 98 Africa Cup of Nations finals hero Robert ‘Baggio’ Nauseb, Angola-based playmaker Meraai Swartbooi and the no-nonsense Olivier Risser, who plays for a German lower-division side Bonner FC.Nauseb, who plies his trade in the jersey of Santos in the South African Premier Soccer League, brought valuable experience to the side and his tough tackling and superb ball distribution made him one of the mainstays of the Brave Warriors side.The experienced pair of Michael ‘Brixton Tower’ Pienaar of Ramblers FC and Hartman Toromba, who is registered with Black Leopards FC in the Premier Soccer League in South Africa, also had a rock-solid performance, unlike in the match against Zambia.Gottlieb Nakuta of Blue Waters FC and Namibian champions Civics’ Franklin April provided excellent cover to the two central defenders.Nakuta, despite playing in an official international for the first time, did not set a foot wrong while April had a more difficult task to close keep check on Libya’s danger man Ali Rahuma, who proved to be a very difficult customer in position.In goal Bamfuchile counted on the agility of Jomo Cosmos FC’s Abisai ‘Zico’ Shiningayamwe, who rewarded the coach’s trust in him with a clean sheet, despite the visitors twice denting the woodwork around him.The general feeling is that Bamfuchile has found a steady 11, which has an excellent mixture of youth and experience, and he must just continue his hunt for a prolific striker in order to have a solid starting line-up.In the final analysis, Namibia is ready and prepared to compete on international level, but there is a lot of room for improvement.Bamfuchile and his technical team must be allowed time and space to groom the team and there is hope for the future.