Stars, Pirates through to Cup final African Stars and Orlando Pirates set up a dream

MTC NFA Cup final after beating Mighty Gunners and Ramblers respectively in Saturday’s semi-final matches at the Kuisebmond Stadium.

The Otjiwarongo first-division team, Mighty Gunners’ fairytale ride in the competition finally came to an end to a dubious goal by Stars’ winger Steve Tjeenao. Tjeenao sent in a high cross into the penalty area that Gunners’ goalie Sackeus Muhurukwa misjudged.The ball floated over his head and although a defender cleared the ball away, the referee ruled that it had crossed the line and awarded the goal to Stars.Stars were more dangerous on attack and deserved the victory, despite being a man down for half of the match.Just before halftime Stars’ defensive midfielder Isaac Mwinga headbutted Gunners’ striker Paulus Shingenge and the referee gave him his marching orders after conferring with the linesman.Tjeenao created several more quality crosses from the left wing while Johannes Seibeb had a good chance, after being put clear in the box, but he took too long on the ball.Gunners did all they could to find the equalizer in the dying minutes but they couldn’t breach Stars’ defence.Snewe accepts goal Gunners’ coach David Snewe was magnanimous in defeat and accepted the linesman’s call on Stars’ goal.”The ball could have been in or out, but I accept the linesman’s decision,” he said.”It’s a pity that we lost, but I am happy that we came this far.Now we are aiming to qualify for the Premier League,” he said.Stars’ coach Gilbert Rwasoka said he had given Mwinga a strong talking to and that he would be punished by Stars’ management.”I gave him some harsh words and our management will act against him.He is a good defensive midfielder who will now miss the final, but there is nothing I can do and I’ll now have to rearrange our team.After his sending off I reverted to one striker in stead of two and luckily things worked out for us in the end,” he said.It is the third final that Stars has reached over the past two seasons, after they lost to Blue Waters in the 2005 FNB Cup and to Civics in the 2006 FNB Cup, and Rwasoka was determined to make it third time lucky.”I am very happy.We’ve been working very hard and I am determined that we will make it third time lucky.We lost the other two finals on penalties, but this time we’ll make sure of winning the final,” he said.Pirates beat Ramblers Pirates beat Ramblers 2-1 in the second semifinal with an electric display that had their fans wild with delight.With Klaas Blom and Patrick Jagger combining brilliantly Pirates created numerous opportunities and took the lead when an unmarked Ettienne Beukes blasted in a cross at the far post in the 25th minute.Minutes later Ramblers’ Tommy Horaeb had a goal disallowed for offside, but they finally equalised when Lazarus Kaimbi blasted in a rebound in the 54th minute.But Pirates came back and regained the lead when Jagger headed into the net from a Blom corner.Ramblers launched attack after attack in the final quarter, but Pirates defended courageously to hold on for victory.Pirates’ coach Ali Akan was a relieved man after the match and paid tribute to his players.”All credit goes to my players who had to fight very hard.It was a tough match and Ramblers are a good team.But we approach each match like a final and we are happy to win,” he said, adding that Blom and Jagger had displayed “unbelievable skills.””African Stars are one of the biggest teams in Namibia.It will be one of the best finals ever,” he added.Ramblers’ coach Tollie van Wyk couldn’t hide his disappointment.”We had the opportunities but couldn’t finish them off.Pirates’ goals came from stupid mistakes in defence from players you wouldn’t normally expect it,” he said.”We were unlucky, but now it’s back to the drawing board and we will have to start all over again,” he said.namibiasport.com.naTjeenao sent in a high cross into the penalty area that Gunners’ goalie Sackeus Muhurukwa misjudged.The ball floated over his head and although a defender cleared the ball away, the referee ruled that it had crossed the line and awarded the goal to Stars.Stars were more dangerous on attack and deserved the victory, despite being a man down for half of the match.Just before halftime Stars’ defensive midfielder Isaac Mwinga headbutted Gunners’ striker Paulus Shingenge and the referee gave him his marching orders after conferring with the linesman.Tjeenao created several more quality crosses from the left wing while Johannes Seibeb had a good chance, after being put clear in the box, but he took too long on the ball.Gunners did all they could to find the equalizer in the dying minutes but they couldn’t breach Stars’ defence.Snewe accepts goal Gunners’ coach David Snewe was magnanimous in defeat and accepted the linesman’s call on Stars’ goal.”The ball could have been in or out, but I accept the linesman’s decision,” he said.”It’s a pity that we lost, but I am happy that we came this far.Now we are aiming to qualify for the Premier League,” he said.Stars’ coach Gilbert Rwasoka said he had given Mwinga a strong talking to and that he would be punished by Stars’ management.”I gave him some harsh words and our management will act against him.He is a good defensive midfielder who will now miss the final, but there is nothing I can do and I’ll now have to rearrange our team.After his sending off I reverted to one striker in stead of two and luckily things worked out for us in the end,” he said.It is the third final that Stars has reached over the past two seasons, after they lost to Blue Waters in the 2005 FNB Cup and to Civics in the 2006 FNB Cup, and Rwasoka was determined to make it third time lucky.”I am very happy.We’ve been working very hard and I am determined that we will make it third time lucky.We lost the other two finals on penalties, but this time we’ll make sure of winning the final,” he said.Pirates beat Ramblers Pirates beat Ramblers 2-1 in the second semifinal with an electric display that had their fans wild with delight.With Klaas Blom and Patrick Jagger combining brilliantly Pirates created numerous opportunities and took the lead when an unmarked Ettienne Beukes blasted in a cross at the far post in the 25th minute.Minutes later Ramblers’ Tommy Horaeb had a goal disallowed for offside, but they finally equalised when Lazarus Kaimbi blasted in a rebound in the 54th minute.But Pirates came back and regained the lead when Jagger headed into the net from a Blom corner.Ramblers launched attack after attack in the final quarter, but Pirates defended courageously to hold on for victory.Pirates’ coach Ali Akan was a relieved man after the match and paid tribute to his players.”All credit goes to my players who had to fight very hard.It was a tough match and Ramblers are a good team.But we approach each match like a final and we are happy to win,” he said, adding that Blom and Jagger had displayed “unbelievable skills.””African Stars are one of the biggest teams in Namibia.It will be one of the best finals ever,” he added.Ramblers’ coach Tollie van Wyk couldn’t hide his disappointment.”We had the opportunities but couldn’t finish them off.Pirates’ goals came from stupid mistakes in defence from players you wouldn’t normally expect it,” he said.”We were unlucky, but now it’s back to the drawing board and we will have to start all over again,” he said.namibiasport.com.na