SKW to tighten screws

TABLE-toppers SKW have the mandate to further tighten the screws at the summit of the premiership if they want to position themselves to capture their first ever post-Independence league title when they engage Orlando Pirates on Saturday night.

Pirates, current defending champions, are dwelling in mid-table after having an impressive first leg in the domestic MTC Namibia Premier League which resumes after the Easter Weekend break.There are also other matches, starting tomorrow night with old foes African Stars hosting Tigers at the Independence Stadium at 20h00, while there will be two other matches outside Windhoek on Saturday.Ramblers host Mighty Gunners, Black Africa take on Eleven Arrows in other Windhoek matches on Saturday, while Civics travel to Chief Santos in Tsumeb, with Oshakati City awaiting Hotspurs in the North.SKW have the chance to consolidate on their current two-point lead ahead of African Stars when they meet the Buccaneers, who have lost form in their recent matches.SKW on their part maintained a consistent run in the league and have never gone below the sixth spot since the start of the league.They now have 36 points from their 15 matches, while their 12 wins in the league are the most impressive in the league to date.They have only lost three times and have no draws, while Pirates have won eight times from their 15 matches with 28 points to their credit.It will be a titanic battle as Pirates will desperately want to move away from their fifth position and move into at least the top-four bracket before the end of the season.Stars and Arrows each have a game in hand and a win for Stars over Tigers tomorrow will temporarily take them to the top and keep them there, depending on the success of SKW at the weekend.Civics, sitting in third spot on 31 points from 15 matches, will be looking at closing in when they take on struggling Chief Santos at the Oscar Norich Stadium.The men in maroon and white will not be complacent in their away task, as coach Ricardo Mannetti has earlier hinted that he wants to take each game as it comes, but was more interested in results in the end.Arrows, who also enjoyed a great early league run, have a tough test against an in-form Black Africa away from home, a match that can go either way.Both sides possess good quality players and it will depend on the strategies and tactics of coaches Ali Akan (Black Africa) and Gilbert Rwasoka to find winning formulas.Oshakati City, who upset Tigers in their last match, can do themselves a favour by taking three more points at home against Hotspurs.They can only do that if they effectively shut out the tricky Hotspurs strikers and move swiftly on counter-attacks.Ramblers will only have themselves to blame if they fail to make Mighty Gunners pay for their unusual poor league campaign thus far. Ramblers have to win at all costs to stay clear of the relegation zone. corry@namibian.com.na