Mannetti in tough test against Tigers

BLACK Africa head coach Ricardo Mannetti has no choice but to restore some lost pride among his players and fans when they meet Tigers in an MTC Premiership clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tonight. Kick-off is at 20h00.

Black Africa were held to a goalless draw by Hotspurs last week in a match which many believe they should have won.This time against Tigers, who come from a win at the weekend, the pressure will be mounting on the youthful coach.Mannetti has drawn his past three matches, while he lost his first match since he took over in the second round. Black Africa first went down 2-0 to Civics, drew 1-all against African Stars and then 2-all against United Stars before they were once again held by Hotspurs last week.Tonight will be Mannetti’s fifth game in charge and a win will be on the minds of many of his supporters who have become uneasy with a string of draws, despite the same team that did duty in most of the first-round matches under Ali Akan.In fact, BA are missing their red-hot frontman Clarence Foroma and rely on Jerome Louis whose form has dipped slightly, while their other target man, Roger Katjiteo, is mostly introduced later in the match.Midfield kingpin Brian Bantam and his counterparts, which include Eliphas Heita, Willie Stephanus and Marco van Wyk, are expected to show more character and urgency by being more offensive, since their strikers have only scored three goals in the last four matches to date.The backline of BA looks solid with Da Costa Angula doing a great job in each game, but they need to tighten up more tonight as Tigers are poised to open the floodgates with their in-form and unpredictable striker Tangeni Shipahu.The match will revive the traditional rivalry between the two sides and a win for either side will further give their title chances a boost.Tigers are third on the log with 27 points from 15 matches, while BA are just a point adrift in fourth spot. The two sides enjoy considerable support and tonight will be no different as all fans will be expected to go and witness what the players can dish out. corry@namibian.com.na