Civics confident to overturn 5-0 drubbing by Supersport

CIVICS will tonight go into the preliminary Caf Champions League Cup tie against Supersport United wounded, but with a lot of confidence to upset the South Africans.

The match kicks off at the Independence Stadium at 19h00. The ‘Civilians’ were hammered 5-0 by Supersport United in their first ever participation in the competition, away at Securicor Loftus in Pretoria on March 6.The following week, Civics were knocked out of the New Era Sam Nujoma Cup through a single goal by Black Africa, while they also lost out in the Tafel Lager NFA Cup earlier this year.Despite that, the league leaders are poised to restore dignity in their camp and to have their supporters smile again when they face the Pretoria-based professionals today.Civics Technical Advisor, Ali Akan is confident of a win tonight.He told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the team had now studied its shortcomings and had worked on them in the past two weeks.”We worked very hard for this game and our moral has also picked-up since we lost to them in South Africa, while the loss to BA also made us more hungry to start winning again,” he said.Civics lost focus, especially in the second half during their first encounter with Supersport, while some players also showed signs of fatigue.The two teams played according to a 4-4-2 formation in South Africa, but this time around, Akan says they will approach the game differently.”I don’t want to say how we want to play, but the visitors should be ready for an onslaught,” he said.Civics beat Tigers 2-1 in a friendly match on Wednesday night, as part of their preparations for the match.Midfield sensation Heinrich Isaacks will not play as he suffered an injury during the away game, while Congo Hindjou, who warmed the bench for the entire match against Black Africa, is also unlikely to start.Akan did not give the starting line-up, but did not completely rule out Hindjou from playing.Civics captain and defender, Amos Shiyuka, comes back into the fold and his inspiration will be crucial in tightening up the defence, which proved way too vulnerable in South Africa.Shiyuka missed both the encounters against Supersport and BA due to work commitments outside the country.Exciting midfielder Alex Gomez who is fast becoming an obstacle for most of his counterparts in the middle of the park, will be a definite start, judging from his performance against BA.Gomez, an Angolan national, has the ability to dictate the midfield with precise passes and also possesses great dribbling skills.Civics hit man upfront Floris Diergaardt was rated 7 out of 10 during the first leg, the highest among his teammates.This time Diergaardt needs to up his performance as he is now on home-soil.That also applies to Cascas Angula, whose last minute efforts by coming from the bench against Black Africa, could not save his team from losing.Goalkeeper Danzyl Bruwer should by now have his form in top condition, after he looked hapless in the first match.The former Warriors goalie has a great sense of aggressiveness in goal, but his goalkeeping tricks have proved to be costly to the team on several occasions.The ‘Civilians’ were hammered 5-0 by Supersport United in their first ever participation in the competition, away at Securicor Loftus in Pretoria on March 6.The following week, Civics were knocked out of the New Era Sam Nujoma Cup through a single goal by Black Africa, while they also lost out in the Tafel Lager NFA Cup earlier this year.Despite that, the league leaders are poised to restore dignity in their camp and to have their supporters smile again when they face the Pretoria-based professionals today.Civics Technical Advisor, Ali Akan is confident of a win tonight.He told The Namibian Sport yesterday that the team had now studied its shortcomings and had worked on them in the past two weeks.”We worked very hard for this game and our moral has also picked-up since we lost to them in South Africa, while the loss to BA also made us more hungry to start winning again,” he said.Civics lost focus, especially in the second half during their first encounter with Supersport, while some players also showed signs of fatigue.The two teams played according to a 4-4-2 formation in South Africa, but this time around, Akan says they will approach the game differently.”I don’t want to say how we want to play, but the visitors should be ready for an onslaught,” he said.Civics beat Tigers 2-1 in a friendly match on Wednesday night, as part of their preparations for the match.Midfield sensation Heinrich Isaacks will not play as he suffered an injury during the away game, while Congo Hindjou, who warmed the bench for the entire match against Black Africa, is also unlikely to start.Akan did not give the starting line-up, but did not completely rule out Hindjou from playing.Civics captain and defender, Amos Shiyuka, comes back into the fold and his inspiration will be crucial in tightening up the defence, which proved way too vulnerable in South Africa.Shiyuka missed both the encounters against Supersport and BA due to work commitments outside the country.Exciting midfielder Alex Gomez who is fast becoming an obstacle for most of his counterparts in the middle of the park, will be a definite start, judging from his performance against BA.Gomez, an Angolan national, has the ability to dictate the midfield with precise passes and also possesses great dribbling skills.Civics hit man upfront Floris Diergaardt was rated 7 out of 10 during the first leg, the highest among his teammates.This time Diergaardt needs to up his performance as he is now on home-soil.That also applies to Cascas Angula, whose last minute efforts by coming from the bench against Black Africa, could not save his team from losing.Goalkeeper Danzyl Bruwer should by now have his form in top condition, after he looked hapless in the first match.The former Warriors goalie has a great sense of aggressiveness in goal, but his goalkeeping tricks have proved to be costly to the team on several occasions.