Warriors in top gear

THE Brave Warriors moved into top gear at their training sessions yesterday ahead of their do-or-die Cosafa Castle Cup clash against Seychelles on Saturday.

A win on Saturday will pit them against Zambia or Malawi in a deciding match on Sunday, which could see them through to the semi-finals of the competition. Namibia has not managed to go past the first hurdle of the Cosafa Castle Cup for the past four years, and this time around the Warriors need to prove to the football-hungry nation that they have what it takes to be among the front-runners for the prestigious title.In 2002, the Warriors lost 2-1 to Swaziland at the Somhlolo Stadium in that country with their goal coming from Ruben van Wyk, and the following year they went down to 0-1 to Botswana at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.In 2004, Namibia were beaten 2-1 by Angola in Luanda, a match that will possibly remain one of the most memorable for Jason Petrus, whose power drive from at least 25 metres left the Angolan goalie baffled.In 2005, the Namibians failed to contain Botswana as they lost concentration in the dying minutes of the game, allowing the visitors to squeeze in a late goal to level matters at one all.The Namibians were buried during the penalty shootout (2-1), a situation which also exposed their vulnerability in taking spot-kicks.This year, they will once again be given an opportunity on home turf, which should at least guarantee them a place in Sunday’s mini-final, as their opponents have not played more than one match in this competition.Seychelles only joined the Cosafa family last year and were dumped out of the competition with their first attempt by South Africa, when they lost 0-3 in Curepipe, Seychelles.The inexperience of Seychelles, who are in fact lowly rated in southern African football, should give the Namibians an easy path to meeting either Malawi or Zambia on July 23.Namibia have met Zambia only twice in this competition (1997 and 1998).They drew on both occasions during the league phase, after both went past the knockout round.They also played Malawi on two occasions, but at that time, the format of the tournament was changed into having a first round to allow teams to still have a chance in the next stage.In 1997, Namibia beat Malawi 4-1, their biggest ever win in the competition at the Independence Stadium, and drew 1-1 in 1999, but Namibia went on to lose 2-1 on aggregate against Angola in the final second leg, after a 1-0 win by Angola in the first final leg.At that time, there were no penalties as matches were played through the first round, play-offs, quarter-finals, semi-finals and two-legged finals.The worst performance by Namibia in the competition was in 1998 when they were hammered 5-2 by Zimbabwe in Harare.Shepherd Muradzikwa, Benjamin Nkonjera (pen), Tauya Murewa, Peter Ndlovu and Kingston Rinhemota all feasted on the Namibian goal on that day, while Gerros Uri-khob and Clemens Khaiseb were the only two to have scored for the Namibians.At the moment, Civics midfielder Congo Hindjou, who has not played any international football for at least three years, is still the leading scorer for Namibia in the competition.He has scored five goals so far and his opponents were Zimbabwe in the inaugural competition when Namibia won 2-1.He scored twice from the penalty spot.In the same year, Hindjou scored once in their 4-1 win over Malawi, before he extended his tally to four goals against Zambia in their 1-1 draw the following year.The last time he was on target was in 1999 when Namibia shamed South Africa 4-1 in a penalty shootout at the Independence Stadium.Hindjou scored an equaliser in that match (50th min) after Pollen Ndlanya opened the scoring for Bafana Bafana in the 32nd minute.The previous year, Namibia blasted South Africa 3-2 in the same competition with Stanley Goagoseb, Bimbo Tjihero and Berlin Auchumeb causing the damage on January 24 in Windhoek.Hindjou is back in the team at the moment and his experience will be invaluable for the side which boast a number of talented players, both locally and from foreign clubs.Namibia has not managed to go past the first hurdle of the Cosafa Castle Cup for the past four years, and this time around the Warriors need to prove to the football-hungry nation that they have what it takes to be among the front-runners for the prestigious title.In 2002, the Warriors lost 2-1 to Swaziland at the Somhlolo Stadium in that country with their goal coming from Ruben van Wyk, and the following year they went down to 0-1 to Botswana at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek.In 2004, Namibia were beaten 2-1 by Angola in Luanda, a match that will possibly remain one of the most memorable for Jason Petrus, whose power drive from at least 25 metres left the Angolan goalie baffled.In 2005, the Namibians failed to contain Botswana as they lost concentration in the dying minutes of the game, allowing the visitors to squeeze in a late goal to level matters at one all.The Namibians were buried during the penalty shootout (2-1), a situation which also exposed their vulnerability in taking spot-kicks.This year, they will once again be given an opportunity on home turf, which should at least guarantee them a place in Sunday’s mini-final, as their opponents have not played more than one match in this competition.Seychelles only joined the Cosafa family last year and were dumped out of the competition with their first attempt by South Africa, when they lost 0-3 in Curepipe, Seychelles.The inexperience of Seychelles, who are in fact lowly rated in southern African football, should give the Namibians an easy path to meeting either Malawi or Zambia on July 23.Namibia have met Zambia only twice in this competition (1997 and 1998).They drew on both occasions during the league phase, after both went past the knockout round.They also played Malawi on two occasions, but at that time, the format of the tournament was changed into having a first round to allow teams to still have a chance in the next stage.In 1997, Namibia beat Malawi 4-1, their biggest ever win in the competition at the Independence Stadium, and drew 1-1 in 1999, but Namibia went on to lose 2-1 on aggregate against Angola in the final second leg, after a 1-0 win by Angola in the first final leg.At that time, there were no penalties as matches were played through the first round, play-offs, quarter-finals, semi-finals and two-legged finals.The worst performance by Namibia in the competition was in 1998 when they were hammered 5-2 by Zimbabwe in Harare.Shepherd Muradzikwa, Benjamin Nkonjera (pen), Tauya Murewa, Peter Ndlovu and Kingston Rinhemota all feasted on the Namibian goal on that day, while Gerros Uri-khob and Clemens Khaiseb were the only two to have scored for the Namibians.At the moment, Civics midfielder Congo Hindjou, who has not played any international football for at least three years, is still the leading scorer for Namibia in the competition.He has scored five goals so far and his opponents were Zimbabwe in the inaugural competition when Namibia won 2-1.He scored twice from the penalty spot.In the same year, Hindjou scored once in their 4-1 win over Malawi, before he extended his tally to four goals against Zambia in their 1-1 draw the following year.The last time he was on target was in 1999 when Namibia shamed South Africa 4-1 in a penalty shootout at the Independence Stadium.Hindjou scored an equaliser in that match (50th min) after Pollen Ndlanya opened the scoring for Bafana Bafana in the 32nd minute.The previous year, Namibia blasted South Africa 3-2 in the same competition with Stanley Goagoseb, Bimbo Tjihero and Berlin Auchumeb causing the damage on January 24 in Windhoek.Hindjou is back in the team at the moment and his experience will be invaluable for the side which boast a number of talented players, both locally and from foreign clubs.

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