Stars to come out fighting

Surprise package Tura Magic take on African Stars at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Friday night, in the pick of this weekend’s MTC Premiership second round matches.

Tura Magic surprised friend and foe alike by winning the pre-season NPL Cup competition, while they also got off to a winning start in the MTC Premiership by beating Blue Boys 1-0 last weekend.

African Stars, by contrast, lost their opening MTC Premiership match last weekend, going down 2-1 to Orlando Pirates, and will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

A further twist to tonight’s match is that Stars’ coach Woody Jacobs will come up against his old team, Tura Magic, whom he took to fifth position on the log last season, but he said there would be no time for sentiment and that he would approach it like any other game.

“Now I’m only focussed on getting the job done with Stars and there will be no time for sentiments. It’s nothing personal, it’s just business,” he said.

“We have our backs against the wall and after our defeat against Pirates we will have to rebound against Tura Magic, but they are a tough team. Tura Magic are a very talented squad and it will be an uphill battle but Stars must respond and we have the players to do the job,” he said.

Stars will be without captain Pat Uanivi who is still out with a long term injury and Jamu Ngatjizeko, who got injured against Pirates, while Deon Hotto is also unavailable after being sent off against Pirates. Jacobs however said they would still be able to field a formidable side against Tura Magic.

“I’ll finalise the team tomorrow, but Eslin Kamuhanga will probably come in for Deon Hotto. We have an abundance of talent to choose from,” he said.

Tura Magic coach Bertus Bock said they are prepared and looking forward to take on one of the ‘big teams’ in the league in African Stars.

“We are ready and looking forward to this match. There is always pressure when you take on a big team like African Stars but we are ready for them and will play our normal game,” he said.

“I think in the past teams underestimated Tura Magic but they are taking us more seriously now,” he added.

Bock said he expected a big onslaught from African Stars.

“Stars lost their first game of the season so I expect that they will come out in full force, so we will be under pressure, but I think we will be able to handle it,” he said.

In other second round matches on Saturday, Orlando Pirates host Eleven Arrows at the Independence Stadium, while defending champions Black Africa travel to Rundu to take on newly-promoted United Stars.

There will be a double header at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay, with Blue Boys taking on Rundu Chiefs at 14h00 while Blue Waters face Tigers at 16h00.

Civics go top of the log

Civics meanwhile went to the top of the MTC Premiership log after beating Ramblers 1-0 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Quinton Kuruseb scored the winning goal on 30 minutes to secure the victory, which puts Civics three points clear of the chasing pack at the top of the log.

In a largely uneventful match, chances were few and far between, while both teams still looked rusty and out of touch.

Diego Descande came close for Ramblers early on but his shot was cleared off the line, while at the other end, Maxwell Plaatjies provided a good cross into the box to Erwin Afrikaner, who could not control the ball.

Civics finally found the net when Mussa Kiriri whipped in a cross from a corner and an unmarked Khuruseb calmly stabbed the ball into the net at the far post.

Both sides were wasteful in the second half and rarely looked like finding the net. Steven Gariseb and Donelly Nel were both off target with freekicks for Civics, while Alfred Ndyenge also blasted a Ramblers freekick high over the bar.

Towards the end of the match Civics striker Erwin Afrikaner nearly found the net but his volley hit the crossbar and stayed out.

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