Civics upbeat about Angola

CIVICS will go into their CAF Champions League return match against Sagrada Esperanca as the favourites for progressing to the next round, after tearing apart the Angolan premiership championships 4-0 in Windhoek a fortnight ago.

The Namibian premiership champions left for Luanda in high spirits yesterday, ahead of their clash at the Cidadela Stadium in the Angolan capital on Sunday. Kick-off is at 16h30, Namibian time.Civics beat the Angolan team at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium with prolific striker William Chilufya scoring a hat-trick on a day that saw the visitors in hopeless form.This time, Civics will be expected to live up to that performance, as they will have to defend their 4-0 lead in the competition that crowns the best African premiership side.The Namibians have assembled their best 19 players for the trip, but they will be expected to stand their ground on match day at the 35 000-capacity stadium.Civics’ administrative secretary Tim Isaacs told The Namibian Sport before their departure yesterday that the players are optimistic of another win, despite the disadvantage of playing in front of a huge crowd that will support Esperanca.”The home crowd will be our only disadvantage at this stage, but as far as our preparations are concerned for this game, we are convinced that we can pull it through,” he said.He said the spirit in the team is phenomenal and the players are all “eager to get the job done”.Civics have left with three of their most experienced players in defender and captain Amos Shiyuka, midfielder Congo Hindjou and striker Killian Kavari.The trio will be key to Civics’ victory because of the relatively young players in the side who have not played much football on international level.Although Shiyuka was replaced with 15 minutes to go before the break in the first match due to a lack of match-fitness, he is believed to be in good shape this time around and has the duty of leading from the front as the skipper.Hindjou will play an instrumental role in midfield, as he has mastered that role both on national and club level, while Kavari has the chance to prove that he is a natural goal scorer.The three players have represented Namibia on the national level and will be required to lead by example in Luanda.Other players who stood out during the home leg were defenders Mentos Hipondoka, defensive midfielder Brian Brendell and attacking midfielder Congo Ngatjizeko.Former Blue Waters goalkeeper Zico Paulus has developed into a reliable customer in goal and his services will be valuable on Sunday.The same will also be required from midfielders Heinrich Isaacs and Rudi Louw, who are proven threats to any defence with their decisive passes to their strikers.Civics are now playing in their second CAF African Championships League tournament after they were drawn against South Africa’s SuperSport United a year ago.Despite losing in the first round in 2004, Civics have developed into a strong unit and this is evident from their performance in the domestic league as they are currently topping the log, while they are in the run for the lucrative MTC Cup later this year.Coach Helmut Scharnowski has employed the services of former Ramblers official Jorge da Purificacao as technical director, and his knowledge of the game has given the side a different dimension of late.A win will see Civics taking on either East End Lions from Sierra Leone or Asec Mimosas from Ivory Coast on the weekend of March 17 to 19.Kick-off is at 16h30, Namibian time.Civics beat the Angolan team at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium with prolific striker William Chilufya scoring a hat-trick on a day that saw the visitors in hopeless form.This time, Civics will be expected to live up to that performance, as they will have to defend their 4-0 lead in the competition that crowns the best African premiership side.The Namibians have assembled their best 19 players for the trip, but they will be expected to stand their ground on match day at the 35 000-capacity stadium.Civics’ administrative secretary Tim Isaacs told The Namibian Sport before their departure yesterday that the players are optimistic of another win, despite the disadvantage of playing in front of a huge crowd that will support Esperanca.”The home crowd will be our only disadvantage at this stage, but as far as our preparations are concerned for this game, we are convinced that we can pull it through,” he said.He said the spirit in the team is phenomenal and the players are all “eager to get the job done”.Civics have left with three of their most experienced players in defender and captain Amos Shiyuka, midfielder Congo Hindjou and striker Killian Kavari.The trio will be key to Civics’ victory because of the relatively young players in the side who have not played much football on international level.Although Shiyuka was replaced with 15 minutes to go before the break in the first match due to a lack of match-fitness, he is believed to be in good shape this time around and has the duty of leading from the front as the skipper.Hindjou will play an instrumental role in midfield, as he has mastered that role both on national and club level, while Kavari has the chance to prove that he is a natural goal scorer.The three players have represented Namibia on the national level and will be required to lead by example in Luanda.Other players who stood out during the home leg were defenders Mentos Hipondoka, defensive midfielder Brian Brendell and attacking midfielder Congo Ngatjizeko.Former Blue Waters goalkeeper Zico Paulus has developed into a reliable customer in goal and his services will be valuable on Sunday.The same will also be required from midfielders Heinrich Isaacs and Rudi Louw, who are proven threats to any defence with their decisive passes to their strikers.Civics are now playing in their second CAF African Championships League tournament after they were drawn against South Africa’s SuperSport United a year ago.Despite losing in the first round in 2004, Civics have developed into a strong unit and this is evident from their performance in the domestic league as they are currently topping the log, while they are in the run for the lucrative MTC Cup later this year.Coach Helmut Scharnowski has employed the services of former Ramblers official Jorge da Purificacao as technical director, and his knowledge of the game has given the side a different dimension of late.A win will see Civics taking on either East End Lions from Sierra Leone or Asec Mimosas from Ivory Coast on the weekend of March 17 to 19.