Local football pundit Julien Garises has expressed confidence in African Stars FC and Gobabis-based Young Africans to overturn the scoreline in their favour against Vipers SC and Royal Leopards.
The Debmarine Premiership champion, African Stars FC, locks horns with Ugandan outfit Vipers SC on Saturday at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Kitende, Uganda.
The red-blue-white outfit from Namibia suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Vipers SC in Cape Town, South Africa, last Friday, while Young Africans swallowed a bitter pill in Francistown, Botswana, on Saturday following the 2-0 loss to Royal Leopards of Eswatini.
Talking to Desert FM recently, Garises said: “Both teams have good players, and they also upgraded their respective technical teams. If you look at the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations, every other country has grown, but Namibia is still where we were and is lagging in everything.”
“But I am confident they can overturn the results, but it’s also a lesson for us. As long as you play away from home, your 12th man is missing, and that influences your results.”
“The 12th man makes a big difference. These teams have quality players and can overturn the previous results. But for Marley Ngarizemo’s charges, it will be a huge task to overcome. Now they must go and score more than three goals after their 2-0 defeat,” said Garises.
Shee said if Young Africans can pull out a win, they can come back with pride – but it will be a challenge. The Young Africans’ away match is scheduled for today at the Somhlolo National Stadium.
Garises argued that African Stars’ 1-0 lead is a scoreline that looks attractive to overcome, but it is also one of the scorelines that can be difficult to overcome.
“However, with their continued training, it’s doable, but it depends on the players’ mental strength and what they want to accomplish on Saturday,” he said.
In an interview with an Eswatini media house, Royal Leopards head coach Frank Hurube expressed determination ahead of the clash, noting that playing at home gives his side an extra boost.
“We are ready for the Young Africans, and we will show them how Emaswati are when it comes to protecting home ground advantage,” he said.
Building up for African Stars, Vipers SC posted on their Facebook page: “The countdown is on ahead of our crunch game against Namibia’s African Stars FC on Saturday, and our squad is leaving no stone unturned as they hope to claim a slot in the second preliminary round of the Confederation of African Football Champions League preliminary round.”
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