THE record of the Brave Warriors in the Cosafa Castle Cup has since 2003 been hopeless, with knockouts already in the first match.
The Namibian’s sports reporter CORRY IHUHUA was in Gaborone, Botswana and made this analysis. Namibia suffered its third defeat to Botswana at the first hurdle once again, but consolidated their position in the tournament by beating Lesotho 3-2 to end up in an insignificant third-place.Botswana beat Namibia twice at home in 2003 and in 2005, while this year they made sure to dump the youthful Warriors side out of the tournament with a 1-0 win.The team had a good build-up to the tournament, with a 2-1 win away to Malawi, but before that, they showed a great fighting spirit to draw 1-all against the feared Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an African Nations Cup qualifier, while they also beat Libya 1-0 at home in the same competition.Those great performances, especially in the qualifiers, was aided by the presence of the foreign-based internationals and people were of the opinion that Botswana was beatable, despite playing at their famous National Stadium in Gaborone.Botswana could have been beatable last Saturday if Namibia had firstly employed the right tactics, while the players could have been played in their right positions.Substitutions were also made a bit too late in the game and this did not make an immediate impact as Botswana had already turned into a defensive mode.Ronnie Kanalelo, who was listed as the caretaker coach and player for the match, and his assistant, Brian Isaacs, put in their best side on the day against Botswana, but the flaws and some ineffectiveness that came from some players, who were allowed to play until deep into the second half, did not serve any purpose.The team captain, Robert Nauseb, did not have one of his best games, while the inexperience of the main striker, Gerson Katjatenja, clearly came to the fore.Nauseb did not lead from the front and there was a general lack of aggression in his game that is known from him.A lack of real midfield generals for the national side is also a great concern at this stage.Katjatenja, who played his second international after scoring against Malawi in his first match, had problems in finding his feet and at times failed to run into gaps, while his first touch led him down.The young man was also under immense pressure from the Botswana defence as he was made to play with his back to the opposition’s goal.The lack of urgency from Rudolph Bester on the left flank also disappointed his team-mates, who were relying on his crosses from that end.Letu Shatimuene in midfield held on to the ball for longer than required, but overall impressed with his swift dribbling moves and ball control, while Meraai Swartbooi at times was lost in the game.Swartbooi should be taking more shots like the one late in the second half, which was frantically tipped over the crossbar by Botswana goalkeeper and captain Modiri Morumo.The back-four in Mali Ngarizemo, Franklin April, Gottlieb Nakuta and Chris Katjiukua who played only in his (Katjiukua) second top-level game, were impressive.The defenders fought well against the threatening three of Botswana in Dipsy Selolwane, Onalethata Thekiso and Pontsho Moloi.If these players could have been let loose to do their business as they repeatedly capitalised on lose balls that were not collected by Namibia, the scoreline could have been different.There were at least two occasions where the defenders were playing on top of each other, but they were saved by goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha, who was in exceptional form on the day despite the goal.Oliver Risser in midfield was another player who tried to make a contribution, but often in vain.There were times when he made the crucial interceptions and clearing headers, but overall he was led down by the poor co-ordination in midfield.There were good attacks from the Namibians at times, but complacency was the other factor that the coaches need to work on.The tactic that was to be used was simple, attack, attack and attack once more, while Swartbooi could have gone out on the left with Bester and Katjatenja as central attackers.Defender Jeremia Baisako should have played at the start of the second half as his runs are more effective, while he has a great fighting spirit.Jamu Ngatjizeko should have replaced Nauseb already in the first half to make a meaningful contribution.Overall, Botswana were dominant in midfield and their defenders kept it tight as possible, while the attackers were lukewarm.Namibia also had a steady defence, but their midfielders were left chasing shadows at times, with attackers showing little hunger.Namibia had a great game against Lesotho on Sunday, but nearly threw away their 3-0 lead.The outlook is that Namibia has promising young players, but they will struggle against bigger nations come the World Cup qualifiers and it will even be more challenging in case Namibia qualifies for the 2008 Nations Cup in Ghana.The current team should be kept and should play more matches at the top level for experience.Statistically, Namibia has played more matches than Botswana in the Cosafa Cup, which amounts to 26, compared to only 17 by their neighbours.This means that they have played in more rounds than Botswana, while the Warriors have so far won six, compared to three of Botswana.In essence, these are woeful records in terms of wins by both countries and to make it worse, they have never won the competition since its started in 1997.Namibia has however played in the 1997 finals against Zimbabwe and also reached the 1999 finals against Angola.Namibia lost in both finals.Namibia has drawn 11 times, just one less from Zambia, making it the second highest in that regard, while they have conceded 36 goals, compared to 20 by Botswana.The Warriors’ record of hitting the back of the net stands at 33, while Botswana has scored only 10.These goals exclude penalty shoot-outs.Namibia suffered its third defeat to Botswana at the first hurdle once again, but consolidated their position in the tournament by beating Lesotho 3-2 to end up in an insignificant third-place.Botswana beat Namibia twice at home in 2003 and in 2005, while this year they made sure to dump the youthful Warriors side out of the tournament with a 1-0 win.The team had a good build-up to the tournament, with a 2-1 win away to Malawi, but before that, they showed a great fighting spirit to draw 1-all against the feared Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an African Nations Cup qualifier, while they also beat Libya 1-0 at home in the same competition.Those great performances, especially in the qualifiers, was aided by the presence of the foreign-based internationals and people were of the opinion that Botswana was beatable, despite playing at their famous National Stadium in Gaborone.Botswana could have been beatable last Saturday if Namibia had firstly employed the right tactics, while the players could have been played in their right positions.Substitutions were also made a bit too late in the game and this did not make an immediate impact as Botswana had already turned into a defensive mode.Ronnie Kanalelo, who was listed as the caretaker coach and player for the match, and his assistant, Brian Isaacs, put in their best side on the day against Botswana, but the flaws and some ineffectiveness that came from some players, who were allowed to play until deep into the second half, did not serve any purpose.The team captain, Robert Nauseb, did not have one of his best games, while the inexperience of the main striker, Gerson Katjatenja, clearly came to the fore.Nauseb did not lead from the front and there was a general lack of aggression in his game that is known from him.A lack of real midfield generals for the national side is also a great concern at this stage.Katjatenja, who played his second international after scoring against Malawi in his first match, had problems in finding his feet and at times failed to run into gaps, while his first touch led him down.The young man was also under immense pressure from the Botswana defence as he was made to play with his back to the opposition’s goal.The lack of urgency from Rudolph Bester on the left flank also disappointed his team-mates, who were relying on his crosses from that end.Letu Shatimuene in midfield held on to the ball for longer than required, but overall impressed with his swift dribbling moves and ball control, while Meraai Swartbooi at times was lost in the game.Swartbooi should be taking more shots like the one late in the second half, which was frantically tipped over the crossbar by Botswana goalkeeper and captain Modiri Morumo.The back-four in Mali Ngarizemo, Franklin April, Gottlieb Nakuta and Chris Katjiukua who played only in his (Katjiukua) second top-level game, were impressive.The defenders fought well against the threatening three of Botswana in Dipsy Selolwane, Onalethata Thekiso and Pontsho Moloi.If these players could have been let loose to do their business as they repeatedly capitalised on lose balls that were not collected by Namibia, the scoreline could have been different.There were at least two occasions where the defenders were playing on top of each other, but they were saved by goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha, who was in exceptional form on the day despite the goal.Oliver Risser in midfield was another player who tried to make a contribution, but often in vain.There were times when he made the crucial interceptions and clearing headers, but overall he was led down by the poor co-ordination in midfield.There were good attacks from the Namibians at times, but complacency was the other factor that the coaches need to work on.The tactic that was to be used was simple, attack, attack and attack once more, while Swartbooi could have gone out on the left with Bester and Katjatenja as central attackers.Defender Jeremia Baisako should have played at the start of the second half as his runs are more effective, while he has a great fighting spirit.Jamu Ngatjizeko should have replaced Nauseb already in the first half to make a meaningful contribution.Overall, Botswana were dominant in midfield and their defenders kept it tight as possible, while the attackers were lukewarm.Namibia also had a steady defence, but their midfielders were left chasing shadows at times, with attackers showing little hunger.Namibia had a great game against Lesotho on Sunday, but nearly threw away their 3-0 lead.The outlook is that Namibia has promising young players, but they will struggle against bigger nations come the World Cup qualifiers and it will even be more challenging in case Namibia qualifies for the 2008 Nations Cup in Ghana.The current team should be kept and should play more matches at the top level for experience.Statistically, Namibia has played more matches than Botswana in the Cosafa Cup, which amounts to 26, compared to only 17 by their neighbours.This means that they have played in more rounds than Botswana, while the Warriors have so far won six, compared to three of Botswana.In essence, these are woeful records in terms of wins by both countries and to make it worse, they have never won the competition since its started in 1997.Namibia has however played in the 1997 finals against Zimbabwe and also reached the 1999 finals against Angola.Namibia lost in both finals.Namibia has drawn 11 times, just one less from Zambia, making it the second highest in that regard, while they have conceded 36 goals, compared to 20 by Botswana.The Warriors’ record of hitting the back of the net stands at 33, while Botswana has scored only 10.These goals exclude penalty shoot-outs.
