Civics face fabulous Bucs

CIVICS’ chief mentor Helmuth Scharnowski faces a daunting task in his first match, as he aims to upset Katutura giants Orlando Pirates in an MTC Premiership clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tonight.

Scharnowski stepped in after he relegated his former coach Ricardo Mannetti, who had a dull start to the league campaign this season.Scharnowski, who is the chairman of the side, rolled up his sleeves last Sunday and decided to join the boys on the pitch as head coach, in an attempt to rescue the dwindling fortunes of the triple league champions.Scharnowski asked Mannetti to step aside and instead slotted him into the technical department without any portfolio.Scharnowski will be shouting instructions to his players as he attempts to freeze the current great run of Pirates in the league.Table toppers Pirates are in great form and it will take guts, sweat and determination from any side to inflict any pain on them.Pirates are riding high on 17 points from their five wins after seven matches so far, a record which looks too impressive for any side in the league to emulate at this stage.Civics will have the chance to put a stop to that, but the man who is expected to make a difference is Scharnowski who must ignite the morale of his players, which in his opinion has been ‘down’.Civics are stuck in ninth spot with only four points on the log to their credit, after slugging it out rather poorly in seven outings, while they have only one win and a draw. The rest are losses.That record will not matter tonight, however, as the Bethlehem Boys will want to put their poorest run in many seasons behind their backs.A win against Orlando Pirates will just lift the spirits of the players, but a loss will dump their aspirations of becoming premiership champions come May next year into further uncertainty.LIVELY LIONSIn another encounter tomorrow night, Black Africa take on Ramblers in what could turn out to be a riveting affair between the two sides. The match also starts at 20h00.Despite playing to a 2-all draw against United Stars at the weekend, Ramblers have a tendency of raising their game beyond expectations against bigger sides and BA will be in for a run this time around.Black Africa conviencingly fired their way past Oshakati City with five goals at the weekend, but can expect stiff competition from Rammies if they go into the encounter with complacency.Ali Akan’s side sits comfortably in fourth spot and have so far won four of their seven matches, while Ramblers are trying to avoid the last spot with no wins from their seven matches too.Ramblers have three draws and four losses and that record does not reflect too favourably for a side that has the facilities, a good coaching staff and the players to do the job. corry@namibian.com.na