Fight for final spot on

FOUR premiership sides are on the brink of carving themselves places into the country’s most lucrative cup competition when the Cell One NFA Cup returns to the Independence Stadium tomorrow.

The matches are expected to dish out fierce competition as SKW, Eleven Arrows, Ramblers and Orlando Pirates all have everything to play for. For Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), it will be a bonus to make it to the final as it will give them a chance to hit the jackpot twice, provided they win the league title and the cup competition.
SKW are in a good position to wrestle the title away from African Stars which is even in a better position to win the league but who are now going to watch from the sidelines. SKW are second on the Namibia Premier League (NPL) log on 42 points, a point adrift of African Stars who are first and stand a good chance to clinch the league title. That is if they (Stars) capitalise on their remaining four matches by going for all-out wins and not expecting any favours, or hoping for slip-ups by other teams.
But with the league title at the back of their minds and with Stars out of the cup, SKW have to focus on their next opponent, Eleven Arrows, in the cup match tomorrow.
It will be a tough match for both sides, with Arrows expected to probe the rigid SKW defence, while the Windhoek side will rely on creative midfield play and possible counter-attacks. Arrows will have the upper hand in terms of pace upfront, while SKW must ensure that they do not give away possession in midfield which can cause them all kinds of trouble.
Players to watch for SKW will be their captain Marco van Wyk, while for Arrows, their striker Muna Katupose should serve as a threat on the day.
Arrows will not have their most influential player in Rudolf Bester on the field, as he was suspended for the match, while the rest should be available. Chris Katjiukua and veteran Bobby Kaapama will be the men to guard the defence, while the prolific Virgil Vries, has the duty to keep the trouble away from his goalposts.
Orlando Pirates meets Ramblers in the second semi-final of the day and their chances of going through to the final, largely rests on the commitment of players in general.
Despite putting the Ramblers defence to test in their last league match last weekend, Pirates need to improve in especially their attacking department which was solely led by Samson John. They were made to look too ordinary in midfield by ramblers despite the presence of midfielder Quinton Jacobs, Meraai Swartbooi, while the absence of Klaas Blom could have also been a factor. Ramblers have now found form and the return of both Bernadine Mbilizi and Jeremia Baisako will possibly make matters easier for them from an attacking viewpoint, while their captain Nelson Akwenye can contribute to that.
The semi-final between these two teams will be a repeat of last weekend’s match, but more hunger and aggression will be shown by the players who all want to share in the huge prize money at the end of the season. The winner will get N$500 000 and word is that most teams left in the competition will split the money in half with management if they win it.