NAMIBIAN international forward Zenatha Coleman scored a brace on her Uefa Women’s Champions League debut to help FK Gintra-Universitetas to a 13-0 thumping of ARF Criuleni on Tuesday.
Coleman got the first of her two strikes on 12 minutes to double her side’s advantage which was given to them three minutes earlier by Ukranian teammate Tetyana Kozyrenko, who scored four times in the crushing victory that sent the Lithuanian champions top of Group 7 on three points.
The Brave Gladiators star completed her brace by scoring the last goal of the lopsided encounter in the 89th minute to mark a seamless transition into Europe’s premier club competition.
Apart from scoring, the talented playmaker finished the game with five shots at goal and an assist.
Her compatriot Thomalina Adams came on just after the hour mark in place of Kozyrenko and registered two efforts on goal.
Their Moldovan rivals began the match brightly but were soon overwhelmed by the more superior Gintra who dominated proceedings once they went ahead.
They next face second-placed BIIK-Kazygurt from Kazakhstan who defeated the Republic of Ireland’s Wexford Youths 3-1 in their Group 7 opener.
“It must be recognised that Kazakhstan club is one of the favourites in the group but there are no weak rivals and we have to be as focused as we were for the first match,” warned Gintra head coach Rimantas Viktoravicius.
“From what I saw of that match [between Kazygurt and Wexford], I can say that they [Wexford] are playing smart technically, good positional football and trying to wait for their rivals mistakes and turn them into goals,” he said.
Coleman and Adams had promised to deliver performances worthy of placing Namibian football in the spotlight, an objective they are realising.
Gintra are banking on Coleman’s genius and her compatriot Adam’s industry to secure the Lithuanian national champions a historic passage to the next stage.
The club has never been past the qualifying rounds since joining the Uefa Women’s Champions League fray in 2009.
The are 36 clubs divided in nine groups competing in the qualifying round from 23 to 28 August for nine spots alongside 23 sides already in the knockout phase.
The nine qualifying group winners proceed to the 1 September draw for the round of 32, with the two-legged knockout phase commencing in October.
