Warriors freeze out DRC

A SPECTACULAR brace by Heini Isaacks and a goal apiece by Rudolf Bester and skipper Quinton Jacobs, froze out a disorganised Democratic Republic of Congo side as they succumbed to a 4-0 drubbing to the Brave Warriors in an international friendly match on Saturday.

After an hour’s delay to the start of the game and with the Warriors warming up in two separate sessions, the home side dished out a fine performance in front of a capacity crowd at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek. Jacobs gave the Warriors the lead through a superb ground shot in the 34th minute, after a stumbling start in the first ten minutes that saw several chances going astray in front of goal.With a 1-0 lead at the break, the Warriors came back more determined and with renewed energy with Man of the Match Bester, running around the park at will as he tried to create goal-scoring chances.It was not long as he struck home a beauty in the lower corner as he zig-zagged around his marker, a goal that gave the home side enough motivation to push for more.That indeed happened, as Isaacks, who came on for Paulus Shipanga in the second quarter of the match, made his presence felt with a goal in the 73rd minute.Isaacks slotted his first goal past the DRC goalie Ndala Monga in a similar fashion as Bester.His second goal, which came deep into the second, surely stood out for the evening.Isaacks, who regained his great form for his side Civics in the premiership in the second leg of the season, curved the ball neatly into the top corner with almost no effort. It was a marvel to watch the ball rattling in, as Monga had no chance to lay a finger to it.The fans who came in numbers were treated to astonishing individual skills and a high level of confidence by the Warriors, while coach Tom Saintfiet and his assistant Brian Isaacs marked each goal with broad smiles and celebratory hugs.It was an awesome performance by the home side as several officials were also in the VIP lounge to witness the drama.These included NFA president John Muinjo, Deputy Minister of Sport Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Lands and football fanatic Alpheus Naruseb and Namibian lightweight world boxing champion Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses.Bester’s brilliance when in possession and running off the ball proved just too exciting to watch each time the Warriors were on attack.The Namibian defence, marshalled by the experienced George Hummel, Richard Gariseb and Hartman Toromba, was just an impossible mission for DRC, while Athiel Mbaha in goal delivered quality saves.Jacobs, Shipanga, Ninja Karongee, Eslin Kamuhanga and subs Rudi Louw and Ralph Ellinger all helped the cause. DRC played way below the second-fiddle tag to the Warriors. Their play was catastrophic, and they were disorganised after arriving only two hours before the game. See more photos of the match in tomorrow’s edition. corry@namibian.com.na