Ramblers, Tigers, City, Stars keep momentum

EXPERIENCE came in handy when Tigers midfielder Page Ananias sweetly struck a screamer to score a goal that ignited his team to beat rivals Black Africa 2-0 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Friday night.

Ananias, a left-footed player, flung the ball into the net from an acute angle just outside the box to give his side the lead in an encounter that initially saw little drama, apart from the two well-crafted goals. Tigers frontman Nelson Akwenye clinically buried Black Africa with a low shot in the first quarter of the second half, after a terrific build-up that also involved Letu Shatimuene and Pineas Jacobs.On the same night, Orlando Pirates blew their chances in the first half after they could have been 3-0 up, but coach Ali Akan blamed the referee in their eventual 2-1 loss against Ramblers.Ramblers striker Bradley Wermann had a fantastic night when he hit the net twice in the second half to give his side the victory that keeps them in second spot with 29 points, only four behind Civics, who did not play at the weekend.On Saturday, African Stars were efficient in their display and ended on top with a 2-0 win over Golden Bees, while on the same day, SKW were held to a one-all draw by Oshakati City.The busy Stars right winger Brouwers Litombo opened the scoring for Stars before left winger Freedom Puriza concluded matters for the day with a towering header that sailed into the net.Yesterday, Stars struggled to beat Oshakati City and lost three valuable points after City’s Rafael Nuumbembe scored the only goal of the match to hand his team an important victory away from home.Pirates coach Akan on Friday hit out at referees, describing them as “poor performing and unprofessional”.Pirates, who a weekend earlier collected six points to move away from the bottom of the table, also lost the match through several wasted chances, especially by their misfiring strikers.The Pirates midfield had possession largely in the first half, but gave all that away in the second half to Ramblers, who attacked in leaps and bounds whenever they got the ball.Former Pirates player Tommy Horaeb effectively turned the heat on for Ramblers after he came on as a second-half substitute, with his pace clearly giving them the edge in most of their attacks.Ramblers’ striker and former Black Leopards hitman Costa Khaiseb failed to impress on the night, while Riaan Cloete was given no room by his former side, despite dishing out all his tricky dribbling skills.BA striker Jerome Louis also had limited room to manoeuvre from the centre of the park as Tigers’ hard-tackling defender Mahni Martin kept him in check, while on the left, Jeremia Baisako made incisive runs for Tigers that could have been utilised more productively.Tigers’ young and talented striker Jacobs had a field day in front of the BA goal, but his efforts were well read by the BA defensive duo of Moses Katjiteo and Sedekia Haukambe.Civics, Blue Waters, Eleven Arrows and Friends did not have any league obligations at the weekend, because of some key players in the sides away with the national team in Libya.* The result of the Brave Warriors in an African Nations Cup match against Libya, was not available at the time of going to press, as the match started late yesterday evening.Tigers frontman Nelson Akwenye clinically buried Black Africa with a low shot in the first quarter of the second half, after a terrific build-up that also involved Letu Shatimuene and Pineas Jacobs.On the same night, Orlando Pirates blew their chances in the first half after they could have been 3-0 up, but coach Ali Akan blamed the referee in their eventual 2-1 loss against Ramblers.Ramblers striker Bradley Wermann had a fantastic night when he hit the net twice in the second half to give his side the victory that keeps them in second spot with 29 points, only four behind Civics, who did not play at the weekend.On Saturday, African Stars were efficient in their display and ended on top with a 2-0 win over Golden Bees, while on the same day, SKW were held to a one-all draw by Oshakati City.The busy Stars right winger Brouwers Litombo opened the scoring for Stars before left winger Freedom Puriza concluded matters for the day with a towering header that sailed into the net.Yesterday, Stars struggled to beat Oshakati City and lost three valuable points after City’s Rafael Nuumbembe scored the only goal of the match to hand his team an important victory away from home.Pirates coach Akan on Friday hit out at referees, describing them as “poor performing and unprofessional”.Pirates, who a weekend earlier collected six points to move away from the bottom of the table, also lost the match through several wasted chances, especially by their misfiring strikers.The Pirates midfield had possession largely in the first half, but gave all that away in the second half to Ramblers, who attacked in leaps and bounds whenever they got the ball.Former Pirates player Tommy Horaeb effectively turned the heat on for Ramblers after he came on as a second-half substitute, with his pace clearly giving them the edge in most of their attacks.Ramblers’ striker and former Black Leopards hitman Costa Khaiseb failed to impress on the night, while Riaan Cloete was given no room by his former side, despite dishing out all his tricky dribbling skills.BA striker Jerome Louis also had limited room to manoeuvre from the centre of the park as Tigers’ hard-tackling defender Mahni Martin kept him in check, while on the left, Jeremia Baisako made incisive runs for Tigers that could have been utilised more productively.Tigers’ young and talented striker Jacobs had a field day in front of the BA goal, but his efforts were well read by the BA defensive duo of Moses Katjiteo and Sedekia Haukambe.Civics, Blue Waters, Eleven Arrows and Friends did not have any league obligations at the weekend, because of some key players in the sides away with the national team in Libya.* The result of the Brave Warriors in an African Nations Cup match against Libya, was not available at the time of going to press, as the match started late yesterday evening.