Warriors in narrow win

A FINE penalty strike by Brave Warriors midfield maestro Quinton Jacobs handed Namibia a 1-0 victory in an African Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in Windhoek on Saturday.

The drama unfolded at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in a match that was equally dominated by the two teams as well as an incident between spectators and the Police who released tear-gas after a fracas at the entry gates. The match was also spiced up with the presence of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and his predecessor, Sam Nujoma, who watched from the VIP stands.Namibia had a numerous opportunities in the first 15 minutes with Sidney Plaatjies the first to take a shot at goal which went wide, while Collin Benjamin’s follow-up from a corner kick through Heinrich Isaacks was cleared by the opposing defenders.Jacobs and Benjamin stamped their authority in midfield when their quick and short exchanges in most cases found their wingers in Isaacks and Plaatjies, who in return tried to find their captain Henrico Botes upfront in the middle.Botes was also unfortunate when the well taken grass-cutter just went past the upright, beating Ethiopian goalie Tamesafu Chonare, who had a torrid day in goal as he was swamped by many shots which came his way.Robert Nauseb also failed to use his experience, as he hastily shot straight into the goalkeeper after a clear chance in front of goal.In the 20th minute, Benjamin was fouled in the box after he tried dribbling his way past the last man, with Jacobs burying the ball in terrific fashion to take the lead that they kept until the last whistle.The attacks from the Namibians subsided towards the break, with long clearances coming off Namibia’s back trio of Richard Gariseb, Hartman Toromba and Michael Pienaar, which also continued in the last stages of the second half.Franklin April struggled with speed at left-back, but his efforts at keeping out the attacks that mostly came off his wing were also kept out by the midfielders who fell back at time.The second half clearly belonged to the visitors as their passes were now more accurate, but conceded more fouls than the Namibians.The visitors tried in vain to break the Namibian defence with the back four doing a fantastic job, with better communication the key, while Athiel Mbaha in goal was on his toes at all times.Mbaha also made a crucial save from a point-blank shot that he neatly scooped from the ground to keep his team in the lead.Further in the match, Botes was red-carded for back-chatting the referee after an incident which involved him and the opposing players.The members of the Brave Warriors Supporters’ Club, led by Kambombo Kayele, expressed their displeasure after Jacobs was replaced by striker Costa Khaiseb.Coach Ben Bamfuchile justified the move by saying that the team needed to attack more and Khaiseb, as a forward, was brought in for that purpose.The match was also spiced up with the presence of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and his predecessor, Sam Nujoma, who watched from the VIP stands.Namibia had a numerous opportunities in the first 15 minutes with Sidney Plaatjies the first to take a shot at goal which went wide, while Collin Benjamin’s follow-up from a corner kick through Heinrich Isaacks was cleared by the opposing defenders.Jacobs and Benjamin stamped their authority in midfield when their quick and short exchanges in most cases found their wingers in Isaacks and Plaatjies, who in return tried to find their captain Henrico Botes upfront in the middle.Botes was also unfortunate when the well taken grass-cutter just went past the upright, beating Ethiopian goalie Tamesafu Chonare, who had a torrid day in goal as he was swamped by many shots which came his way.Robert Nauseb also failed to use his experience, as he hastily shot straight into the goalkeeper after a clear chance in front of goal.In the 20th minute, Benjamin was fouled in the box after he tried dribbling his way past the last man, with Jacobs burying the ball in terrific fashion to take the lead that they kept until the last whistle.The attacks from the Namibians subsided towards the break, with long clearances coming off Namibia’s back trio of Richard Gariseb, Hartman Toromba and Michael Pienaar, which also continued in the last stages of the second half.Franklin April struggled with speed at left-back, but his efforts at keeping out the attacks that mostly came off his wing were also kept out by the midfielders who fell back at time.The second half clearly belonged to the visitors as their passes were now more accurate, but conceded more fouls than the Namibians.The visitors tried in vain to break the Namibian defence with the back four doing a fantastic job, with better communication the key, while Athiel Mbaha in goal was on his toes at all times.Mbaha also made a crucial save from a point-blank shot that he neatly scooped from the ground to keep his team in the lead.Further in the match, Botes was red-carded for back-chatting the referee after an incident which involved him and the opposing players.The members of the Brave Warriors Supporters’ Club, led by Kambombo Kayele, expressed their displeasure after Jacobs was replaced by striker Costa Khaiseb.Coach Ben Bamfuchile justified the move by saying that the team needed to attack more and Khaiseb, as a forward, was brought in for that purpose.