African Stars suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the CAF Champions League second preliminary round at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday.
The two sides went into the half-time break goalless after a closely contested opening 45 minutes, but Pirates eventually found the breakthrough in the 75th minute through Tshepang Moremi, whose left-footed strike beat goalkeeper Mervin Kaseturu.
The result leaves the Namibian champions with a one-goal deficit to overturn in the return leg, which will be played on Friday, 23 October, at Orlando Amstel Arena in South Africa at 20h00.
Despite the defeat, African Stars will take confidence from their previous comeback in the competition. The Namibian side overturned a 3-1 first-leg loss to Gabonese outfit AS Mangasport with a 2-0 victory in the return leg, drawing 3-3 on aggregate and advancing on away goals.
Their coach, Gerald Güther, believes the team can produce another strong performance in South Africa and insists the tie is far from over.
“We are not down and out. We still have another 90 minutes to go, and we are definitely planning to give it everything,” he says.
He adds that competing against one of the continent’s most established clubs had given his players confidence ahead of the return fixture.
Reflecting on the defeat, Güther admits that African Stars had not planned to lose what was effectively their home fixture.
“Losing was definitely not something we planned for. The first 25 minutes were difficult, as we allowed them too much possession. We wanted to put them under more pressure,” he explains.
He notes that second-half adjustments helped stabilise the game, but a momentary lapse in concentration ultimately proved costly.
“We need to dust ourselves off and prepare for the next game,” he adds.
The match was a significant occasion for Namibian international Deon Hotto, who faced the prospect of meeting his former club for the first time since leaving African Stars in 2014 to join Bloemfontein Celtic in South Africa.
Hotto has since built a successful career in South African football, spending 12 years in the country’s top flight. However, the experienced winger did not feature in Saturday’s encounter.
Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has defended his decision not to introduce the Namibian, describing him as a key figure in the squad and highlighting the importance of managing player workloads during a demanding season.
“Hotto is my right hand in the team. He is a captain and an African legend. He belongs to Africa,” Ouaddou says.
The Pirates coach says rotation is necessary given the club’s packed schedule, with several competitions and important fixtures ahead.
He stresses that he does not view players coming off the bench as ordinary substitutes, but rather as impact players who can change a game.
“Sometimes Hotto is part of the starting eleven. Today, he was part of the impact players. Unfortunately, the game situation did not give me the opportunity to bring him on,” Ouaddou says.
With the return leg still to come, the coach expresses hope that Hotto would have an opportunity to contribute his experience in the next encounter.
African Stars must now regroup and prepare for a difficult assignment in South Africa, where they will need a victory to qualify for the CAF Champions league group stages for their first time in their history.
