Ramblers are champs!

RAMBLERS underlined their great individual talent and fantastic skills which ensured them a 2-0 win over Black Africa in a pulsating FNB Cup football final at the Independence Stadium on Saturday.

Ramblers scored the two goals within seven minutes of each other after they returned from the break, leaving BA with no chance of pushing for an opener until the end. Brave Warriors striker Pineas Jacob opened the scoring in the 70th minute with a lovely volley in front of the goal, while captain Michael Pienaar capitalised on some confusion in the BA defence.Pienaar made a clever turn while among several defenders before putting it beyond goalie Arnold Subeb.In fact, Subeb was largely exposed by his defence on the two goals as they failed to maintain the marauding Ramblers front-line in the second half.Despite that, Subeb, who is in top form at this stage, went on to win the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award after he ensured his team’s place in the final through awesome saves in previous cup matches.BA held on well in the first half as they competed evenly for the ball, but their level of concentration started to fade, while fatigue also caught up with some players.Ramblers were more consistent in both halves, but the explosive talents of most of these players came to the fore, while teamwork was another huge factor in their win.Ramblers, despite having a dry spell in the premiership over the years, are surely strong contenders for the league title, judging from the quality of players in the side.On Saturday, Ramblers clearly demonstrated their depth and exciting ball controlling and passing skills, while their two coaches, Tollie van Wyk and Dove Fransman, gave the team an edge by motivating them throughout.The two coaches still need to land the premiership title, which is surely their objective for the season.Jacob and Samson John were the two predators for Ramblers, but at times failed to make good use of the quality supply of balls which were in abundance, especially from Nelson Akwenye, who is a great danger for any defence.Ramblers had at least three more clear chances to effectively bury BA because of their constant defensive blunders, but John, Jacob and Lukius Hafeni had only themselves to blame.On the other hand, Ramblers fought off BA well in defence and the man who shined was the young Luther Kanalelo, who also walked away with the Player of the Tournament award in the end.Kanalelo has been brilliant as he put in tough tackles, while he chased down the BA goal-hunters effectively.Kanalelo has been a star for his team in defence in most of their matches leading up to the final and this also makes him a strong contender for the Warriors jersey.For BA, captain Lolo Goraseb fought bravely to break the Ramblers defence, but the good passes he squeezed through to his strikers, Jerome Louis and Ronny Hochobeb, did not pay off.Ramblers co-coach Tollie van Wyk said the win was a good confidence booster for the players and they will now work even harder as they attempt to land the league title.”This win will spur us on to even work harder.It showed that we can be the best team in the country.All we need to do is play as a unit and make sure we break the current streak of draws we have had in some of our matches so far,” he said.Black Africa’s Smithley Engelbrecht was not happy with his defence, which ultimately fell apart in the second half, saying that in football “you lose some and you win some”.The win secured Ramblers a cheque of N$170 000, while BA took home N$70 000 in a final that attracted great entertainment from local artists, while the attendance was not as disappointing.David Shaanika was named Match Official of the Tournament, while Danny Chilufya of Ramblers won the Top Goalscorer of the Tournament award with three goals.Brave Warriors striker Pineas Jacob opened the scoring in the 70th minute with a lovely volley in front of the goal, while captain Michael Pienaar capitalised on some confusion in the BA defence.Pienaar made a clever turn while among several defenders before putting it beyond goalie Arnold Subeb.In fact, Subeb was largely exposed by his defence on the two goals as they failed to maintain the marauding Ramblers front-line in the second half.Despite that, Subeb, who is in top form at this stage, went on to win the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award after he ensured his team’s place in the final through awesome saves in previous cup matches.BA held on well in the first half as they competed evenly for the ball, but their level of concentration started to fade, while fatigue also caught up with some players.Ramblers were more consistent in both halves, but the explosive talents of most of these players came to the fore, while teamwork was another huge factor in their win.Ramblers, despite having a dry spell in the premiership over the years, are surely strong contenders for the league title, judging from the quality of players in the side.On Saturday, Ramblers clearly demonstrated their depth and exciting ball controlling and passing skills, while their two coaches, Tollie van Wyk and Dove Fransman, gave the team an edge by motivating them throughout.The two coaches still need to land the premiership title, which is surely their objective for the season.Jacob and Samson John were the two predators for Ramblers, but at times failed to make good use of the quality supply of balls which were in abundance, especially from Nelson Akwenye, who is a great danger for any defence.Ramblers had at least three more clear chances to effectively bury BA because of their constant defensive blunders, but John, Jacob and Lukius Hafeni had only themselves to blame.On the other hand, Ramblers fought off BA well in defence and the man who shined was the young Luther Kanalelo, who also walked away with the Player of the Tournament award in the end.Kanalelo has been brilliant as he put in tough tackles, while he chased down the BA goal-hunters effectively.Kanalelo has been a star for his team in defence in most of their matches leading up to the final and this also makes him a strong contender for the Warriors jersey.For BA, captain Lolo Goraseb fought bravely to break the Ramblers defence, but the good passes he squeezed through to his strikers, Jerome Louis and Ronny Hochobeb, did not pay off.Ramblers co-coach Tollie van Wyk said the win was a good confidence booster for the players and they will now work even harder as they attempt to land the league title.”This win will spur us on to even work harder.It showed that we can be the best team in the country.All we need to do is play as a unit and make sure we break the current streak of draws we have had in some of our matches so far,” he said.Black Africa’s Smithley Engelbrecht was not happy with his defence, which ultimately fell apart in the second half, saying that in football “you lose some and you win some”.The win secured Ramblers a cheque of N$170 000, while BA took home N$70 000 in a final that attracted great entertainment from local artists, while the attendance was not as disappointing.David Shaanika was named Match Official of the Tournament, while Danny Chilufya of Ramblers won the Top Goalscorer of the Tournament award with three goals.