Relegation battle heats up

The bottom three clubs in the Namibia Premier League – Benfica, Touch and Go and Rebels – all lost their matches on Saturday, and with only eight rounds remaining, are edging closer to relegation.

Benfica remained firmly rooted to the bottom of the log after a 4-2 defeat to Mighty Gunners in Otjiwarongo.

Gunners’ star striker Harold Ochurub grabbed a brace while Vernon Klaassen scored one and the other came via an own goal.

The result sees Benfica remaining on seven points – six points below second-from-bottom Touch and Go and now increasingly certain of being relegated.

Touch and Go lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in Windhoek in a match that they could well have lost by a bigger margin.

Enrico Hoebeb opened the scoring for Pirates with a cracking long range shot after only 12 minutes that hit the roof of the net.

Nicky Musambani came close on two occasions – first with a bicycle kick that skimmed the crossbar and then when he only had the goalkeeper to beat but passed to Marcello Haraseb in an offside position.

The young Musambani however made up for his error with a clinical finish when he stabbed home Stanley Kamesiepo’s cross only two minutes into the second half.

It was his 14th goal in 22 matches which sees him remaining t the top of the goal scorers’ chart.

Musambani continued to terrorise Touch and Go’s defence, first hitting the post with a header from a corner, and then going on a great 40m run before shooting narrowly wide of the goals.

For Touch and Go, T8 came close with a header early in the second half, but they seldom looked like scoring and now remain second last on the log.

The victory sees Pirates remaining in sixth position on 36 points – 13 points behind log leaders African Stars.

In the Khomasdal derby, Rebels were thrashed 4-0 by Civics to remain third last on the log.

Civics’ former national striker Sadney Urikhob scored a brace while Wangu Gome and Ignatius Horaseb scored the other goals.

The result sees Civics moving up to 35 points in seventh position, while Rebels remain third-from-bottom on 16 points.

Julinho improved their chances of avoiding relegation with a 4-2 victory against Blue Waters in Rundu. The result sees them moving up to 23 points – seven clear of Rebels, while Blue Waters remain fifth on 37 points.

Tigers remained second after picking up a point in a goalless draw against Citizens. They are now on 39 points – two points ahead of Tura Magic, Black Africa and Blue Waters who are all on 37 points.

In another match in Rundu, United Stars beat Eleven Arrows 1-0. United Stars remain 11th on 29 points, but have opened up a six-point gap over Arrows who are 12th on 23 points.

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