Inexperience cost Brave Warriors Cosafa berth

THE Brave Warriors’ 2-1 loss to Angola in a Cosafa Castle Cup tie in Luanda on Sunday has been attributed mainly to lack of experience.

The youthful Namibian outfit bowed out of the annual competition for the fifth consecutive year, after reaching the final twice since its inception in 1997. Local football coaches and managers who commented on Sunday’s match were generally impressed by the performance of the young lads.Most of the coaches said the performance of the team was “not bad at all” and said it signalled the start of good things to come for Namibian football.Former Brave Warriors coach Seth Boois said the players did well given the humidity and the inexperience that counted against them.He said the players who featured for Namibia in Angola need to be retained and be exposed to more matches at that level.He, however, pointed out that Namibia still needed an attacking force that was capable of taking their chances.”It was evident that our attack still remains under question,” Boois said.Boois, who is currently the national Under 23 coach, said Namibia’s competitiveness at international level could be enhanced if local premier league clubs competed in regional club competitions to gain more experience.Orlando Pirates coach Brian Isaacs said he was happy with the result and the overall play of the team.”The interplay of our players was good, but I think we underrated ourselves and overrated Angola in the match.At times there was a lack of concentration from the defenders, while they also allowed too many balls to be crossed from the Angolan flanks,” he said.Isaacs was particularly impressed by Arnold Subeb and Richard Gariseb.He said Mohammed Ouseb was not at his best as he was “match unfit”.Ouseb has not played competitive football since he parted ways with the Norwegian-based Lyn Oslo in February this year.Ouseb, who got his 65th cap on Sunday, making him one of the most experienced players in the country along with Ronnie Kanalelo and Ricardo Mannetti, has also not fully recovered from a knee injury.”I think the foundation with this team has been laid and the current coach only needs to be given a chance to further build on the team,” Isaacs said.Blue Waters Managing Director, Hendrik Dawids, said the team did well by not letting their opponents overshadow them during the entire match.”They lacked experience, but they showed a fighting spirit in the second half of the match, which proved that they did not leave it all to the Angolans,” he said.Friends Team Manager, Murs Markus, was also happy with the efforts that were made by the Brave Warriors in the match.”At this stage, we need strikers who can run into spaces and take on defenders.This we did not see during the match and I think it is a concern that needs to be addressed with absolute urgency,” he said.”But I think the future is bright for Namibian football, provided that the team is exposed to more international encounters, but the coach should be kept in order to build on the current team,” said Markus.Benfica’s Chairman, Rips Kazapua, said the result could have been different if Namibia’s professional players were available.”The lack of experience was a key area among our players and our internationals could have made a difference in this respect.Despite that, I think the Warriors have set themselves a certain standard and they are not in danger at this stage.They should just build on their current form and the Namibian people should be supportive,” Kazapua said.Player RatingsArnold Subeb 7 Richard Gariseb 8 Steven Tjeenao 7 Amos Shiyuka 6 (Rudolf Bester, 6) Jason Petrus 6 (Berlin Auchumeb, 6) Victor Helu 6 Brian Gurirab 6 Oliver Risser 7 Mohammed Ouseb 5 Jean Paul dos Santos 6 (Dokkies Schmidt, 6) Floris Diergaardt 68 – Very well done, 7 – Good game, 6 – Satisfactory, 5- Off formMatch rating 6Local football coaches and managers who commented on Sunday’s match were generally impressed by the performance of the young lads.Most of the coaches said the performance of the team was “not bad at all” and said it signalled the start of good things to come for Namibian football.Former Brave Warriors coach Seth Boois said the players did well given the humidity and the inexperience that counted against them.He said the players who featured for Namibia in Angola need to be retained and be exposed to more matches at that level.He, however, pointed out that Namibia still needed an attacking force that was capable of taking their chances.”It was evident that our attack still remains under question,” Boois said.Boois, who is currently the national Under 23 coach, said Namibia’s competitiveness at international level could be enhanced if local premier league clubs competed in regional club competitions to gain more experience.Orlando Pirates coach Brian Isaacs said he was happy with the result and the overall play of the team.”The interplay of our players was good, but I think we underrated ourselves and overrated Angola in the match.At times there was a lack of concentration from the defenders, while they also allowed too many balls to be crossed from the Angolan flanks,” he said.Isaacs was particularly impressed by Arnold Subeb and Richard Gariseb.He said Mohammed Ouseb was not at his best as he was “match unfit”.Ouseb has not played competitive football since he parted ways with the Norwegian-based Lyn Oslo in February this year.Ouseb, who got his 65th cap on Sunday, making him one of the most experienced players in the country along with Ronnie Kanalelo and Ricardo Mannetti, has also not fully recovered from a knee injury.”I think the foundation with this team has been laid and the current coach only needs to be given a chance to further build on the team,” Isaacs said.Blue Waters Managing Director, Hendrik Dawids, said the team did well by not letting their opponents overshadow them during the entire match.”They lacked experience, but they showed a fighting spirit in the second half of the match, which proved that they did not leave it all to the Angolans,” he said.Friends Team Manager, Murs Markus, was also happy with the efforts that were made by the Brave Warriors in the match.”At this stage, we need strikers who can run into spaces and take on defenders.This we did not see during the match and I think it is a concern that needs to be addressed with absolute urgency,” he said.”But I think the future is bright for Namibian football, provided that the team is exposed to more international encounters, but the coach should be kept in order to build on the current team,” said Markus.Benfica’s Chairman, Rips Kazapua, said the result could have been different if Namibia’s professional players were available.”The lack of experience was a key area among our players and our internationals could have made a difference in this respect.Despite that, I think the Warriors have set themselves a certain standard and they are not in danger at this stage.They should just build on their current form and the Namibian people should be supportive,” Kazapua said.Player RatingsArnold Subeb 7 Richard Gariseb 8 Steven Tjeenao 7 Amos Shiyuka 6 (Rudolf Bester, 6) Jason Petrus 6 (Berlin Auchumeb, 6) Victor Helu 6 Brian Gurirab 6 Oliver Risser 7 Mohammed Ouseb 5 Jean Paul dos Santos 6 (Dokkies Schmidt, 6) Floris Diergaardt 68 – Very well done, 7 – Good game, 6 – Satisfactory, 5- Off formMatch rating 6