Rammies in Civilian test

CIVICS and Ramblers will rekindle their rivalry when they clash in a Namibia Premier League (NPL) match at the Independence Stadium tonight.

Kick-off is at 20h00.Civics coach Ricardo Mannetti will want to keep his hopes of marching towards the summit of the table alive as his side currently lies in third spot with 34 points from 16 matches.Ramblers will be well aware what it means to slip up because of their precarious position at the moment.Despite being knocked out the Cell One NFA Cup Round of 16 by Orlando Pirates at the weekend, Civics stand a good chance to grab their fourth league title, but that will come at a cost as no team will be easy to beat this time around.Tonight, the Civillians have to do without key players such as Sedekia Haukambe (hamstring), Pineas Jacob (foot) and Henock Salomon (foot) who are injured. Luther Kanalelo will not play for Civics tonight as the loan agreement between his current club and Ramblers stipulates that he must be left out if the two teams play against each other.Kanalelo was signed by Civics in the middle of the current season.Civics will be obliged to focus on the three points, while Ramblers, with their side that ousted Tigers 1-0 in the cup competition at the weekend, will hope for a draw, while a win will be a bonus to lift them further into the top half of the league.Ramblers sit on 15 points from 16 matches, the same as Tigers and Hotspurs.With the quality of players they have, Ramblers can surely show what they are capable of, but Civics will refuse to give them easy points at this stage of the title race. Tonight’s match can produce some sparks, depending on the seriousness of the players on either side to get the points.Ramblers coaches Tollie van Wyk and Dove Fransman have to pick their best squad on the day and attack from all fronts will be key, if they want to put Civics away.On Friday, Tigers have a date with Black Africa at the same venue and time and this match will test the character of the Tigers players, who in their last two matches against Ramblers and African Stars fought bravely despite going down.Tigers lost by a narrow 1-0 margin to Stars in the league and went down by the same score in the cup competition, a sign that shows that they have improved immensely from their early season run.There will also be matches on Saturday, with Eleven Arrows taking on Chief Santos on home turf, a match that can go to the home side considering the current poor form of the Tsumeb-based outfit.Santos are second from the bottom with six points to their credit and are certain of relegation, while they also failed to make it into the quarter-finals of the Cell One NFA Cup at the weekend.In other matches on Saturday, Mighty Gunners host Orlando Pirates, Oshakati City make their way to Windhoek to meet SKW, while Hotspurs will welcome African Stars.Pirates, SKW and Stars can take points in these encounters, as they are fresh from victories in cup matches at the weekend. They too have the better players and their hunt for the title is a motivating factor. corry@namibian.com.na