Pirates restore lost pride

KATUTURA giants Orlando Pirates restored their dented pride with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Tigers at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday, to keep them in the hunt for the MTC Premiership title after being hammered 3-0 by Ramblers on Friday night at the same venue.

Black Africa suffered a shock 3-2 defeat against Touch & Go, also on Saturday at the Khoaeb Stadium in Otavi, adding to their 3-1 midweek loss to Civics in Windhoek. Pirates were lucky to escape with a win after Tigers striker Letu Shatimuene failed to convert a penalty in the first half, with two clear goals by Tigers also going astray with one hitting the crossbar in the latter stages of the match, while the safe hands of Pirates goalkeeper, Helmuth Maletsky, carried Pirates through for the entire match.The half-time score was 0-0.Pirates striker Victor Blaauw indeed made the difference when he latched onto a sweet cross by his captain Riaan Cloete, to shoot past Tigers goalie Fox Nambundunga, a goal they held onto until the last whistle.Tigers coach Ali Akan, who looked upset after the match, said he was disappointed because his players were not in camp ahead of the game.”What do you expect from the players who do not camp? Although we had chances to win the game, I am disappointed because the players have not prepared well mentally and they lacked the needed spirit for such a crucial match,” he said.He said he would not tolerate indiscipline among the players and warned them that they should improve their behaviour if they want to have any hopes of landing the league title.Tigers have now lost three matches in a row, first against SKW (1-0) at the end of last year, a 4-2 defeat against Black Africa last weekend and then against Pirates on Saturday.Meanwhile, Bobby Samaria complained that his side suffered the defeat due to the gravel pitch on which they played, while alleging that poor refereeing was also another big factor.”I don’t want to make excuses really, but we were dealt a blow as we played under harsh conditions.The pitch is really not up to standard and this greatly affected our performance.Refereeing was of the poorest of standards and that cost us a penalty, which I believe was given to the home side on a silver platter,” he said.The match was tied at 1-1 at the break, but Touch & Go led 3-1 in the second half, with Black Africa getting their second through a good effort by Toromba who was pushed to play upfront from his usual defensive role.Samaria, five-time cup winner since becoming the coach of BA, also admitted that his players wasted chances when it mattered and have to up their performance when they face coastal outfits Eleven Arrows and Blue Waters this weekend.Black Africa have now played their sixth match (with only two wins) of the league after having three games in hand due to their players who were doing duty for the national side in South Africa late last year.Other teams did not play at the weekend, as most have already reached seven matches each and had their matches put on hold to give a chance to especially BA and Pirates to catch up with them.Pirates have now played seven games and moved their tally to 14 points after the win against Tigers.On Friday, the towering Michael Pienaar opened the scoring for Ramblers, before Lazarus Kaimbi scored a brace to give their side nine points from their six matches played so far.Pirates were lucky to escape with a win after Tigers striker Letu Shatimuene failed to convert a penalty in the first half, with two clear goals by Tigers also going astray with one hitting the crossbar in the latter stages of the match, while the safe hands of Pirates goalkeeper, Helmuth Maletsky, carried Pirates through for the entire match.The half-time score was 0-0.Pirates striker Victor Blaauw indeed made the difference when he latched onto a sweet cross by his captain Riaan Cloete, to shoot past Tigers goalie Fox Nambundunga, a goal they held onto until the last whistle.Tigers coach Ali Akan, who looked upset after the match, said he was disappointed because his players were not in camp ahead of the game.”What do you expect from the players who do not camp? Although we had chances to win the game, I am disappointed because the players have not prepared well mentally and they lacked the needed spirit for such a crucial match,” he said.He said he would not tolerate indiscipline among the players and warned them that they should improve their behaviour if they want to have any hopes of landing the league title.Tigers have now lost three matches in a row, first against SKW (1-0) at the end of last year, a 4-2 defeat against Black Africa last weekend and then against Pirates on Saturday.Meanwhile, Bobby Samaria complained that his side suffered the defeat due to the gravel pitch on which they played, while alleging that poor refereeing was also another big factor.”I don’t want to make excuses really, but we were dealt a blow as we played under harsh conditions.The pitch is really not up to standard and this greatly affected our performance.Refereeing was of the poorest of standards and that cost us a penalty, which I believe was given to the home side on a silver platter,” he said.The match was tied at 1-1 at the break, but Touch & Go led 3-1 in the second half, with Black Africa getting their second through a good effort by Toromba who was pushed to play upfront from his usual defensive role.Samaria, five-time cup winner since becoming the coach of BA, also admitted that his players wasted chances when it mattered and have to up their performance when they face coastal outfits Eleven Arrows and Blue Waters this weekend.Black Africa have now played their sixth match (with only two wins) of the league after having three games in hand due to their players who were doing duty for the national side in South Africa late last year.Other teams did not play at the weekend, as most have already reached seven matches each and had their matches put on hold to give a chance to especially BA and Pirates to catch up with them.Pirates have now played seven games and moved their tally to 14 points after the win against Tigers.On Friday, the towering Michael Pienaar opened the scoring for Ramblers, before Lazarus Kaimbi scored a brace to give their side nine points from their six matches played so far.