Gladiators impress against Zim

THE Brave Gladiators sent a signal that they are back in business after downing women’s football powerhouse Zimbabwe 2-1 in an international friendly on Friday night, before losing 2-0 the following day, with both matches played in Windhoek.

The Namibian side played beyond expectations on Friday and opened their account in the first half through the boot of the talented Leandri Lucas, who lobbed the ball into the far corner of the goal with precision from what appeared like a cross from the flank. Namibia led 1-0 at halftime in a match played at the SKW Stadium.Lucas still had unfinished business, as she capitalised on a shaky Zimbabwe defence, who let her come in from the flank again to shoot a grass-cutter that left goalkeeper Onai Chingawo with no chance.Despite that, the visitors pushed forward and pulled off a goal through the boot of their danger woman, Precious Mpala, who was given room to beat Namibian goalie, Bonnita Eixas who initially kept many chances by the opposition at bay.On Saturday at the Unam Fields, Namibia were given no room by a rejuvenated Zimbabwean side who blasted their first goal home through Mpala again, before the interval.Zimbabwe added their second goal through a powerful header from Marilyn Magodzore, who initially tormented the Namibian defence the entire 90 minutes.On Friday, despite a crowd of not more than 500 people on a cool evening, the Namibian side put neat passes together and were more organised, compared to Saturday when most of them showed a great lack of concentration, while some key players were also plugged by injuries.The home side produced glimpses of brilliance in most of their build-ups on Friday night, but on Saturday gave possession away easily as most just knocked the ball upfront for no real purpose.The visitors appeared more organised on Saturday as they snapped up all the loose balls and turned them into something useful, but on several occasions found themselves in offside positions.Namibian coach Jacqui Shipanga shouted instructions from the sideline, but her charges appeared out of sorts towards the end of the match, with key players such as Lucas (back strain), Susana Eises (shin), Queen Manga (knee) and captain Helvi Eliakim (knee) picking up injuries.Eliakim was replaced in the first half after she ran into an opposing player as she attempted to clear her lines, while Lucas hit her back on the kerb next to the sideline.The visitors had only three replacements, compared to the Namibian side which had to field six new players in the second half.Coach Shipanga said she was happy with the outcome of both matches, and applauded the opposing side for coming out strongly during the second match.”They are a powerhouse in southern African football, but we have proven that we made a lot of progress to firstly beat them and by not conceding a lot of goals against them.Today’s game (Saturday) was a bit tough for the players as most of the key players picked up injuries, but that should not be an excuse for our performance in general.I think we played well and we are building on the foundation that we have so far laid before we went into these matches,” she said.Shipanga was however dissatisfied with the logistics during the two friendlies, saying that her players had to put the markings on the pitch themselves before the Saturday match.She urged the Namibia Football Association’s (NFA) Local Organising Committee to improve on the logistics in future, saying that the women’s team was serious with the game and wanted to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2008.Captain Eliakim said she was also happy with the overall play of her teammates, as most are inexperienced on international level.”We had a lot of injuries today (Saturday) and I am confident that we are going to have a good team if we just sort out some of the shortcomings in our play, that we identified during the matches,” she said.The Gladiators are preparing for the Olympic qualifiers against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on February 17 and on March 10.The players will now take a ten-day break.Namibia led 1-0 at halftime in a match played at the SKW Stadium.Lucas still had unfinished business, as she capitalised on a shaky Zimbabwe defence, who let her come in from the flank again to shoot a grass-cutter that left goalkeeper Onai Chingawo with no chance.Despite that, the visitors pushed forward and pulled off a goal through the boot of their danger woman, Precious Mpala, who was given room to beat Namibian goalie, Bonnita Eixas who initially kept many chances by the opposition at bay.On Saturday at the Unam Fields, Namibia were given no room by a rejuvenated Zimbabwean side who blasted their first goal home through Mpala again, before the interval.Zimbabwe added their second goal through a powerful header from Marilyn Magodzore, who initially tormented the Namibian defence the entire 90 minutes.On Friday, despite a crowd of not more than 500 people on a cool evening, the Namibian side put neat passes together and were more organised, compared to Saturday when most of them showed a great lack of concentration, while some key players were also plugged by injuries.The home side produced glimpses of brilliance in most of their build-ups on Friday night, but on Saturday gave possession away easily as most just knocked the ball upfront for no real purpose.The visitors appeared more organised on Saturday as they snapped up all the loose balls and turned them into something useful, but on several occasions found themselves in offside positions.Namibian coach Jacqui Shipanga shouted instructions from the sideline, but her charges appeared out of sorts towards the end of the match, with key players such as Lucas (back strain), Susana Eises (shin), Queen Manga (knee) and captain Helvi Eliakim (knee) picking up injuries.Eliakim was replaced in the first half after she ran into an opposing player as she attempted to clear her lines, while Lucas hit her back on the kerb next to the sideline.The visitors had only three replacements, compared to the Namibian side which had to field six new players in the second half.Coach Shipanga said she was happy with the outcome of both matches, and applauded the opposing side for coming out strongly during the second match.”They are a powerhouse in southern African football, but we have proven that we made a lot of progress to firstly beat them and by not conceding a lot of goals against them.Today’s game (Saturday) was a bit tough for the players as most of the key players picked up injuries, but that should not be an excuse for our performance in general.I think we played well and we are building on the foundation that we have so far laid before we went into these matches,” she said.Shipanga was however dissatisfied with the logistics during the two friendlies, saying that her players had to put the markings on the pitch themselves before the Saturday match.She urged the Namibia Football Association’s (NFA) Local Organising Committee to improve on the logistics in future, saying that the women’s team was serious with the game and wanted to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2008.Captain Eliakim said she was also happy with the overall play of her teammates, as most are inexperienced on international level.”We had a lot of injuries today (Saturday) and I am confident that we are going to have a good team if we just sort out some of the shortcomings in our play, that we identified during the matches,” she said.The Gladiators are preparing for the Olympic qualifiers against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on February 17 and on March 10.The players will now take a ten-day break.