Civics confident of victory

CIVICS captain Mentos Hipondoka says his side has no fear of the highly regarded Angolan league champions, Sagrada Esperanca, when the two teams engage in the first leg of the CAF Champions League football match in Windhoek tomorrow.

Kick-off is at 17h00. Civics qualified for the champions league after winning the domestic league last season and will play the return leg in Angola on March 4.Hipondoka, who has been standing is as captain for the side in the absence of regular captain Amos Shiyuka through injury, declared that Civics were confident of winning the match.”We are very positive and confident that we will get a win from this match.The team is injury free and we have the home-ground advantage.We are appealing to the nation to come in numbers to witness a historic win, not only for Civics, but for the entire Namibia,” said the former Tigers player.Hipondoka is one of five players who will play in their second Confederation of Africa Football Champions League match, along with defender Shiyuka, midfielders Congo Hindjou, Heini Isaacs and striker Donny Isaacs.Civics first played in the competition a year ago and lost to South Africa’s SuperSport United.Hipondoka recently recovered from an ankle injury and will lead his charges, who are mostly under the age of 25, against the more experienced Angolan side.The Angolans have three Congolese national team players who recently competed at the African Nations Cup in Egypt, while their posts will be guarded by the Angolan national side’s second-choice goalkeeper, who was also at the Nations Cup.Hipondoka believes that despite the daunting reputation of their opponents, Civics will go into the match with “a winning attitude”.”We don’t fear them.In football, any team can win a match.The only question is whether you take your chances or not,” said the 23-year-old defender.Civics team manager Paul Stramis was equally optimistic about their chances to win the match.”The best thing that could happen is to beat them by at least three goals so that we can have an advantage when we play them in Angola.It will be difficult to beat them in their backyard, so we have to make sure that we get the goals that matter tomorrow,” he said.Stramis said the team would have two training sessions today, with the one in the afternoon focusing on set pieces.”They will go through free-kicks, penalty shots, corners and related aspects as part of polishing up for the encounter,” he said.Esperanca won the Angolan premier league for the first time in years and have a fully professional set-up with the lowest-paid player believed to take home US$1 200 (N$7 320) a month.The team spent a month training in Brazil and have played 12 games leading up to tomorrow’s match.The Angolans also have the services of a former Angolan national coach, who won the Cosafa Castle Cup twice in his career, while they have a strong financial backing from a consortium of oil companies.Civics prepared for the match through domestic encounters and had little time to strike deals for better preparations in South Africa.Their strongest opponents were another Angolan side, Premeiro de Agosto, which beat them 4-0 in Windhoek on Tuesday.Civics is a semi -professional club with Buschschule as its main sponsor, and most of its players have played on national-team level.Their most experienced player is Congo Hindjou, who has also made it to the final group of 20 to play Esperanca tomorrow.It is not clear if he will play, as he is not fully fit after returning from a stint as coach of the team last season.There is also no certainty that Shiyuka will be part of the first 11, despite making it into the group of 20 eligible players for tomorrow’s match.* Local musicians will perform after the match.Civics qualified for the champions league after winning the domestic league last season and will play the return leg in Angola on March 4.Hipondoka, who has been standing is as captain for the side in the absence of regular captain Amos Shiyuka through injury, declared that Civics were confident of winning the match.”We are very positive and confident that we will get a win from this match.The team is injury free and we have the home-ground advantage.We are appealing to the nation to come in numbers to witness a historic win, not only for Civics, but for the entire Namibia,” said the former Tigers player.Hipondoka is one of five players who will play in their second Confederation of Africa Football Champions League match, along with defender Shiyuka, midfielders Congo Hindjou, Heini Isaacs and striker Donny Isaacs.Civics first played in the competition a year ago and lost to South Africa’s SuperSport United.Hipondoka recently recovered from an ankle injury and will lead his charges, who are mostly under the age of 25, against the more experienced Angolan side.The Angolans have three Congolese national team players who recently competed at the African Nations Cup in Egypt, while their posts will be guarded by the Angolan national side’s second-choice goalkeeper, who was also at the Nations Cup.Hipondoka believes that despite the daunting reputation of their opponents, Civics will go into the match with “a winning attitude”.”We don’t fear them.In football, any team can win a match.The only question is whether you take your chances or not,” said the 23-year-old defender.Civics team manager Paul Stramis was equally optimistic about their chances to win the match.”The best thing that could happen is to beat them by at least three goals so that we can have an advantage when we play them in Angola.It will be difficult to beat them in their backyard, so we have to make sure that we get the goals that matter tomorrow,” he said.Stramis said the team would have two training sessions today, with the one in the afternoon focusing on set pieces.”They will go through free-kicks, penalty shots, corners and related aspects as part of polishing up for the encounter,” he said.Esperanca won the Angolan premier league for the first time in years and have a fully professional set-up with the lowest-paid player believed to take home US$1 200 (N$7 320) a month.The team spent a month training in Brazil and have played 12 games leading up to tomorrow’s match.The Angolans also have the services of a former Angolan national coach, who won the Cosafa Castle Cup twice in his career, while they have a strong financial backing from a consortium of oil companies.Civics prepared for the match through domestic encounters and had little time to strike deals for better preparations in South Africa.Their strongest opponents were another Angolan side, Premeiro de Agosto, which beat them 4-0 in Windhoek on Tuesday.Civics is a semi -professional club with Buschschule as its main sponsor, and most of its players have played on national-team level.Their most experienced player is Congo Hindjou, who has also made it to the final group of 20 to play Esperanca tomorrow.It is not clear if he will play, as he is not fully fit after returning from a stint as coach of the team last season.There is also no certainty that Shiyuka will be part of the first 11, despite making it into the group of 20 eligible players for tomorrow’s match. * Local musicians will perform after the match.