African Stars have league title in sight  Six points from their remaining three matches are all that stand between African Stars and a third consecutive Debmarine Namibia Premiership crown. The champions secured maximum points over the weekend to build up a four-point buffer over second-placed Young African, who are on 49 points accrued from 27 matches. Stars beat Ongos and Tigers 2-0 each to continue their march towards securing another league and cup double, with the MTC Maris Cup already in their bulging trophy cabinet. Khomas Nampol and Mighty Gunners in third and fourth positions on 46 points apiece are the only other clubs still in with a mathematical shout of usurping the leaders. However, Nampol and Gunners will need Stars to fail to pick up points in their remaining fixtures while winning their last three each for that to happen. The Gunners are one of Stars opponents this weekend, with mid-table Okahandja United the other. Stars captain Ronald Ketjijere, who has been an integral part of the last six title triumphs, says retaining the title will require single-minded focus. “It’s getting tight at the top, so we can not afford any slip-ups. We came out knowing what we wanted, which is three points today [Sunday],” Ketjirere said following the 2-0 win over Stars courtesy of strikes from Wily Stephanus and the league’s top scorer Mbakondja Tjahikika.“Tigers is one of our hoodoo teams, we’ve struggled to beat Tigers over the years. Today we came with a different mentality.” A similar shift against Okahandja United and Mighty Gunners will guarantee the title. However, Ketjijere cautioned against getting ahead of themselves. “It’s one game at a time, we have to focus on Okahandja United. We need to get the maximum points against them,” the ex-Brave Warriors skipper said. “We know its not going to be easy as each team is now fighting for their own objectives, some want to be top eight and others want to be out of relegation. We want to win the league and we must keep our eye on the ball.” Stars head coach Bob Mafoso expects his charges to rise to the occasion and get over the finish line. “We always try to ignore what other teams are doing. We just want to focus on what we want to do,” Mafoso says. “We’re happy that we’re going into the final two weekends in control of the situation. We’re not chasing, it’s in our hands.” Meanwhile, Blue Boys became the latest club to be relegated from the topflight following another abysmal showing over the weekend. They lost 3-0 to Khomas Nampol on Saturday before going down 2-1 to Young Brazilians, who are next on the chopping block unless they can overhaul 13th place Julinho Athletic. The Brazilians are on 21 points, seven fewer than Julinho, who need only two more points to remain in the top division. Cuca Tops, who were relegated just over a week ago, held KK Palace goalless on Sunday after losing 1-0 at home to Eeshoke Chula Chula the day before. The post African Stars have league title in sight  appeared first on The Namibian.

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Relegated Cuca Tops ‘will bounce back’ Cuca Tops will be back in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership next season, head coach Metu ‘Spider’ Tjirovi said when the club’s relegation was confirmed following Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Tigers in Windhoek. Tops also lost 4-0 to Ongos the day before to rule out any mathematical chance of avoiding the dreaded axe. Tjirovi lamented the club’s sorry season, which has seen them lose 18 of their 25 matches to date. They have managed one win all campaign, with a further six draws giving them a paltry nine points – eight fewer than fellow stragglers Blue Boys in 15th position. That solitary win was a 1-0 victory against Julinho Sporting on 30 November.  Nonetheless, Tjirovi is convinced that the team’s brief experience of life in the premiership will aid them in bouncing back from the North East First Division, which they won to gain entry to the national top tier league last season. He believes the key to making a swift return lies in retaining as many of their players in the off season and investing in quality reinforcements. “We will bounce back. We’re not going to sell all our players. We can lose three or four but the majority we must keep and just strengthen were we need to,” Tjirovi said. He said his side has not lacked motivation despite their underwhelming performances and will attempt to restore pride with improved showings in their five remaining matches. “When it comes to encouragement, I always talk to the players to give their best. It’s a lesson learnt for everyone. We’ll go back to the first division and bounce back up,” said Tjirovi. Tops captain Junior Kasanga said their time in the big league was not all doom and gloom. He fondly recalled getting to rub shoulders with the likes of African Stars stalwarts Wily Stephanus, Ronald Ketjijere and Charles Hambira. “It was my first time playing in the premier league; we enjoyed it. We got to play with players that we admire, players who we supported and followed online and on TV,” Kasanga said of the positive takeaways. “It was a good experience. There are some certain things we need to improve on. As a team it was actually good so we will learn from our mistakes. We will rectify our errors so we come back stronger,” said Kasanga. The post Relegated Cuca Tops ‘will bounce back’ appeared first on The Namibian.

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YA boss draws Blue Waters’ ire over match-fixing allegations Young African founder and coach Maleagi Ngarizemo denies assaulting a match official but maintains that Blue Waters influenced the outcome of their Debmarine Namibia Premiership clash at Walvis Bay on Saturday. The match ended 3-1 in favour of Blue Waters, who took exception to Ngarizemo’s allegations of match manipulation. Ngarizemo, who was red-carded for verbally abusing the head referee, claims the match officials made several dubious calls which contributed to the defeat of the title-chasing YA, who lie three points off top spot. He also rubbished reports that he man-handled the referee at the end of the match. However, the league’s administrator, Mabos Vries, yesterday confirmed that the incident is contained in the match commissioner’s report. “Yes, the incident is in the report submitted with us [the league]. We will study the details and try to establish what transpired through all the parties involved, after which we can take a position on the matter,” Vries said. Ngarizemo vehemently denied he had assaulted the referee when contacted for comment on Tuesday. “That’s pure nonsense,” Ngarizemo’s said. “I have never done that as a player, neither as a coach. So, that’s nonsense. Yes, there was a robust confrontation after the match and I got a red card for that, we moved on.” Ngarizemo claims his outburst was sparked by him witnessing what he believes to have been collusion between match officials and senior Blue Waters officials at the stadium. He said the “assault story” was fabricated by Blue Waters to cover-up their influence on match officials. Ngarizemo alleged that a former chairperson of Blue Waters was appointed as the head of referees in the country “just to make sure their team survives”. “They were all over the referees. I found them together at the dressing room; they walked out together from the dressing room,” Ngarizemo said. “People must stop talking of things they can’t prove, I will sue them. They must bring proof of what they say, not a report that is drafted by those that push such agendas.” BASELESS ACCUSATIONS In response, Blue Waters strongly rejected Ngarizemo’s allegations, saying he was a sore loser who lacks sportsmanship. “Blue Waters Sport Club would in the strongest terms like to condemn allegations of match-fixing and referee tampering. We would subsequently like to reiterate our commitment to fair play and transparency,” Blue Waters chairperson Mathias Haufiku says in statement. “This is nothing but sour grapes from someone who did not get the results he wanted. Ngarizemo must be reminded that no team has a monopoly when it comes to winning,” Haufiku continues. “Baseless accusations such as these brings the name and integrity of our team into serious disrepute and we do not take it lightly. “As a seasoned football guru, we hold Ngarizemo in high regards, but his accusations must be challenged because they not only damage the reputation of our club, but Namibian football as well. “As far as Blue Waters is concerned, none of our former chairpersons have been appointed to chair the Namibia Football Association’s referee portfolio, in fact it is public knowledge that Erastus Shilunga is the incumbent chairman of referees in Namibia,” Haufiku says. The Blue Waters chairperson called on the authorities to call Ngarizemo to order and demands that he formally take up his grievance with league authorities. Failure to do so would result in unspecified consequences for Ngarizemo, Haufiku warns. “We, therefore, challenge Ngarizemo to provide concrete evidence of any referee-tempering plan orchestrated by Blue Waters FC, if not, we will be left with no choice but to seek available remedies to protect our professional integrity, built for over 89 years,” says Haufiku, who acknowledges that his team has struggled this season. FAIRNESS AND SPORTSMANSHIP Blue Waters are presently 11th in the 16-team division, having won only four of their 21 matches thus far. They have 12 draws, the most by any club in the top division, and five losses which leaves them nine points from safety with nine matches to go. The club has changed coaches twice this season in a bid to remedy their indifferent form. “Following our poor start in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership, we premised our focus on fixing our internal affairs, ranging from an administration and technical point of view to improve our performance on the field,” says Haufiku. “Despite several questionable decisions going against us in the past, we have never questioned the integrity of any of our opponents or match officials, it will remain as such,” he maintains. “Blue Waters has always cherished the ideals of fairness and sportsmanship, whether we win or lose. Therefore, we will not stoop so low to even consider football corruption in our bid to survive relegation. “We have been relegated before, thus, if our performances are not up-to standard and we happen to be relegated – now or in the future – we would rather fight our way back into the league instead of compromising the beautiful game through clandestine schemes.” The purported attack goes against Namibia Football Association president Robert Shimooshili’s call to end abuse of match officials by officials and fans. This follows similar cases of referee battery last year when Shimooshili said match officials need to be protected and be able to go about their duties in a safe environment. “We cannot tolerate insults, threats, and harassment against our referees any longer,” Shimooshili said during the CAF Safety and Security Workshop held in Windhoek mid-August last year. “We must protect our referees, players, sponsors, guests, spectators, and ourselves. Zero tolerance for security threats at our stadiums is our goal.” The post YA boss draws Blue Waters’ ire over match-fixing allegations appeared first on The Namibian.

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Stars, Nampol create a gap  African Stars and Khomas Nampol both collected maximum points in the Debmarine Namibia Premiership over the weekend to open up a bit of a gap on the chasing pack.  On Saturday, Stars beat Cuca Tops 3-1 through goals by Jomo Tjiveta, Vitapi Ngaruka and Godwin Eiseb and followed that up with a comprehensive 4-1 win against Julinho Sporting on Sunday, with Mbakondja Tjahikika scoring a brace, and Charles Hambira and Awilo Stephanus one goal each. That put them at the top of the log on 36 points from 19 matches, but Khomas Nampol are just one point behind after they also collected maximum points over the weekend.  On Saturday, Khomas Nampol made a great comeback to beat FC Ongos 3-1. Simon Elago gave Ongos an early lead from a corner, but Nampol struck back with second half goals by Ngunzu Salazar, Matthias Haufiku and Apollo Hangero to get a valuable win.  On Sunday their striker Ngunzu Salazar scored both goals against Tigers, which put them second on the log, just one point behind Stars on 35 points.  Nampol coach Fortune Eichab said their game plan against Tigers worked out perfectly.  “We always play to win, so we came with a plan against Tigers – we played long balls – if you play long balls against Tigers you unsettle the defence and it’s very difficult for them to contain that. Our second goal came as a result of that – out from the keeper into the box. We trained hard for this and I’m just happy for the players and the fans as well – it’s been a while since we picked up six points, but the teams around us are winning so we need to keep on winning,” he said.  The results put them right back in the title race, but Eichab said they are not concentrating on that at the moment.  “The title race is still wide open, anything can still happen, but we are not concentrating on that, we are only concentrating on our upcoming matches. We have crucial games coming up so we need to check on our games, check on our opponents and prepare well,” he said.  “If we just focus on Stars we will be out of the title race, so we will just focus on ourselves and do what is right for us.  If we play the right way we will get results and move in the right direction,” he said.  On Sunday, FC Ongos bounced back with a 1-0 win against Young Brazilians in Keetmanshoop with Simon Elago scoring the winner.  That put them on 33 points, along with Young African, who picked up maximum points after beating Cuca Tops 1-0 and Julinho Sporting 2-0.  Mighty Gunners also moved up to 33 points after collecting four points at home at the Mokati Stadium in Otjiwarongo.  On Saturday they drew 0-0 against Blue Waters, while they beat Blue Boys 3-1 on Sunday, with Stephanus Petrus, Barnand Horaseb and Edwin Axakhoeb scoring their goals while Christiaan Doeseb replied for Blue Boys.  Unam had a successful weekend on the road after drawing 0-0 against KK Palace and beating Eeshoke Chula Chula 2-1, to move up to sixth position on 30 points. Tigers beat Young Brazilians 2-1 on Saturday to move up to seventh on 27 points, with Chula Chula also on 27 after they drew 0-0 against Bucks Buccaneers on Saturday.  In other results, Okahandja United beat Blue Boys 2-0, KK Palace and Bucks Buccaneers drew 0-0, and Blue Waters beat Okahandja United 1-0.  The post Stars, Nampol create a gap  appeared first on The Namibian.

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African Stars lose momentum at the top  Defending Debmarine Namibia Premiership champions African Stars’ new coach, Bob Mafaso, says he needs some time to bed-in following a weekend of mixed fortunes. Stars lost ground at the top of the standings after suffering a surprise 2-0 defeat to Unam on Saturday afternoon before atoning for that shock result with a 1-0 win over struggling Bucks Buccaneers the day after. The holders dropped to third and now trail Ongos by a point having started the weekend level on 26 points. Ongos picked up four points to move up to 30, following a goalless draw with Mighty Gunners at home on Sunday and a 3-1 victory over Okahandja United the day before. In an interview on Saturday after their loss at the Unam Stadium, African Stars head coach Bob Mafoso stated that his players gave their all, but Unam was more organised on the day. “I am still trying to get my feet on the ground with the new team, but we had a good game plan, and my players gave it their all,” Mafoso said. “I just hope that in our next game, they will not be in too much of a hurry and try to play our game, as today they were rushing. I am the only new guy here, so the players have an understanding of what is expected to win,” Mafoso noted. He acknowledged that he did not intend to start his African Stars journey with a defeat and hopes to turn things around and ensure the team retains their title. Khomas Nampol moved into second position on the table by virtue of having a better goal-difference after beating Cuca Tops 2-0 away at Rundu, where they also drew 2-2 against Julinho. Young African are fourth, following Sunday’s 1-0 win over Unam and a shock defeat by the same scoreline against Buccaneers on Saturday. It was Young African’s first league defeat of the season and indicative to the slip in form since relinquishing top spot on the standings which they led for the opening nine fixtures. The Gunners complete the top five, after picking up two points on the road. They also played to 1-1 stalemate against Tigers on Friday. In the drop zone, Young Brazilian in 14th spot improved their survival prospects with 1-0 triumph over bottom side Cuca Tops and 1-1 draw with Julinho. Like Tops, Blue Boys continued struggling as they lost both matches over the weekend. They were defeated 2-0 away to Eeshoke Chula Chula on Saturday and 1-0 by King Kauluma Palace the following day. The post African Stars lose momentum at the top  appeared first on The Namibian.

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