Civics set to spoil party

FIREWORKS are in the offing as Namibia’s premiership champions Civics aim to spoil the party for the visiting Petro de Luanda in an MTN CAF Champions League match at the Independence Stadium tomorrow.

Kick-off is at 16h00. It will be a fatal blow for the Namibian side to lose, provided the home support that they are bound to receive in this important fixture.A 2-0 win tomorrow will see Civics home and dry into the next stage of this lucrative but tough journey in Africa’s biggest club championships event.Civics lost 1-0 to the Angolan side about a fortnight ago in Luanda, and scoring two goals while avoiding any against them will make them eligible to take further part in the competition.Petro de Luanda were known as Petro Atletico before changing their name.Civics are currently playing in their third MTN CAF Champions League (not second as reported earlier), making them the only club in Namibia to have done so to date.Civics striker William Chilufya also holds the record for being the only player to have scored a hat-trick against another Angolan side, Sagrada Esperanca, in an earlier Champions League tie played in Windhoek, while it will also be his eighth match in the competition.Their first entry into the competition was in 2005 when they lost 5-0 to South Africa’s Supersport United in Pretoria, before holding them to a one-all draw in their second leg in Windhoek.The following year, the team went the distance by first beating Sagrada Esperanca 4-0 in Windhoek (where Chilufya scored a hat-trick), before they were held to a one-all draw against the same side in Angola with Heini Isaacs being the scorer.They won the first round with a 5-1 aggregate score and were set to meet Ivorian giants Asec Mimosas in the next phase of the tournament.They fell 3-0 in Abidjan against the former side of current Chelsea’s striker Didier Drogba (Asec Mimosas), but played to a one-all draw back at home, which was a satisfactory result in front of the home crowd.Yesterday, team manager Paul Stramis told The Namibian Sport that the entire team was convinced that they will make it to the next stage of the competition.”The boys are showing great signs of enthusiasm in winning this game.They demonstrated that through their wins last weekend and so far, they have responded very positively at training and they are all focused to the task ahead,” he said.Civics, with their motto ‘Victory is Duty’, were not happy about their loss in Angola, as they claimed that the ball went through the side net to give the home side a victory.”This time, there will be no goals from the side net and what have you.There will be clear, classic and indeed historical goals from our strikers.We are going to make them pay dearly for the loss in Angola,” said a fired-up Stramis.He said the only concern in the Civics camp is their injured striker Geoffrey Roman, who is suffering from a hamstring injury, along with another frontman, Floris Diergaardt, who is still nursing a knee injury.Stramis said they might be used, depending on the decision of the medical staff and the coaches.The ‘Civilians’ can bank on the reliability of the unpredictable Chilufya, who has proven to be a deadly finisher, while the young Frans de Muinda and Eusebio Fredericks are expected to back him up.Midfielders Brian Gurirab, Rudi Louw, Jamu Ngatjizeko and Tugela Tuyeni, defenders Amos Shiyuka, Fraklin April, Ellington Tjirimuje and Mentos Hipondoka, and goalkeeper Sitali Mulife are some of the players who will play on the day.Stramis said the best eleven players will play on the day and he was already assured of a victory.It will be a fatal blow for the Namibian side to lose, provided the home support that they are bound to receive in this important fixture.A 2-0 win tomorrow will see Civics home and dry into the next stage of this lucrative but tough journey in Africa’s biggest club championships event.Civics lost 1-0 to the Angolan side about a fortnight ago in Luanda, and scoring two goals while avoiding any against them will make them eligible to take further part in the competition.Petro de Luanda were known as Petro Atletico before changing their name.Civics are currently playing in their third MTN CAF Champions League (not second as reported earlier), making them the only club in Namibia to have done so to date.Civics striker William Chilufya also holds the record for being the only player to have scored a hat-trick against another Angolan side, Sagrada Esperanca, in an earlier Champions League tie played in Windhoek, while it will also be his eighth match in the competition.Their first entry into the competition was in 2005 when they lost 5-0 to South Africa’s Supersport United in Pretoria, before holding them to a one-all draw in their second leg in Windhoek.The following year, the team went the distance by first beating Sagrada Esperanca 4-0 in Windhoek (where Chilufya scored a hat-trick), before they were held to a one-all draw against the same side in Angola with Heini Isaacs being the scorer.They won the first round with a 5-1 aggregate score and were set to meet Ivorian giants Asec Mimosas in the next phase of the tournament.They fell 3-0 in Abidjan against the former side of current Chelsea’s striker Didier Drogba (Asec Mimosas), but played to a one-all draw back at home, which was a satisfactory result in front of the home crowd.Yesterday, team manager Paul Stramis told The Namibian Sport that the entire team was convinced that they will make it to the next stage of the competition.”The boys are showing great signs of enthusiasm in winning this game.They demonstrated that through their wins last weekend and so far, they have responded very positively at training and they are all focused to the task ahead,” he said.Civics, with their motto ‘Victory is Duty’, were not happy about their loss in Angola, as they claimed that the ball went through the side net to give the home side a victory.”This time, there will be no goals from the side net and what have you.There will be clear, classic and indeed historical goals from our strikers.We are going to make them pay dearly for the loss in Angola,” said a fired-up Stramis.He said the only concern in the Civics camp is their injured striker Geoffrey Roman, who is suffering from a hamstring injury, along with another frontman, Floris Diergaardt, who is still nursing a knee injury.Stramis said they might be used, depending on the decision of the medical staff and the coaches.The ‘Civilians’ can bank on the reliability of the unpredictable Chilufya, who has proven to be a deadly finisher, while the young Frans de Muinda and Eusebio Fredericks are expected to back him up.Midfielders Brian Gurirab, Rudi Louw, Jamu Ngatjizeko and Tugela Tuyeni, defenders Amos Shiyuka, Fraklin April, Ellington Tjirimuje and Mentos Hipondoka, and goalkeeper Sitali Mulife are some of the players who will play on the day.Stramis said the best eleven players will play on the day and he was already assured of a victory.