Namibia’s home-based Brave Warriors will face a tough assignment on Saturday when they take on the Seychelles in the second leg of their African Championships (CHAN) match at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.
Namibia lost the first leg 1-0 in Seychelles and will now have to score at least two goals to progress to the next round of the competition.
The Brave Warriors’ poor goal scoring form in recent matches has been worrisome, with several golden chances being missed in their last two matches. Against Seychelles, Jerome Louis missed a great chance when he lobbed the ball over the crossbar with only the keeper to beat, while a shot by Eslin Kamuhanga hit the post.
In last weekend’s Independence Celebrations match against Botswana, Namibia missed at least three clear chances with Tangeni Shipahu, Roger Katjiteo and Paulus Shipanga all coming close to scoring.
This left national coach Tom Saintfiet kicking his heels in frustration after the match.
“I’m frustrated at the moment and I’m actually very disappointed. Botswana played well, but we had some big chances and if you don’t score from these chances, then you will not beat the Seychelles, Botswana or anyone else,” he said.
To add to Saintfiet’s woes, several players were struggling with injuries on Wednesday and it is uncertain whether they will recover in time to be available for Saturday’s match.
Defender Nelson Geingob has a ligament injury, while defender Steve Goagab and goalkeeper Virgil Vries both have foot injuries.
Winger Eslin Kamuhanga has an ankle injury, while defender Richard Gariseb has an eye injury after being elbowed in the face in the first leg match against the Seychelles.
But despite all the setbacks, Saintfiet said he was happy with the commitment shown during training while the spirit in the camp was high.
“I am very satisfied with the motivation of the players and the level of training. It is now an all or nothing match for us and we will have to score two goals to go through. It will not be easy, but the confidence is there and the side is looking good,” he said.
Saintfiet, who turns 37 on Monday, said they had been working on some tactics to beat Seychelles.
“We have been working on some tactics to counter them, but I can’t divulge this yet. We need to win the match and we are planning something,” he said, adding:
“I would like to celebrate a victory on my last day of being 36.”
Saintfiet has maintained the same squad that played against Botswana, except for the four foreign-based players, who are not eligible, since the CHAN competition is just limited to home-based players.
If the match ends in an aggregate tie, it will go down to penalties to decide the winner.
The aggregate winner between Namibia and the Seychelles will take on the winner between Zimbabwe and Swaziland for a place at the CHAN Cup finals, which will be held in Sudan early in 2011.
Saturday’s match will start at 16h00 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium.
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers:
Athiel Mbaha, Virgil Vries, Max Mbaeva.
Defenders:
George Hummel, Steve Goagab, Richard Gariseb, Ralph Ellinger, Nelson Geingob, Jamu Ngatjizeko, Gottlieb Nakuta.
Midfielders:
Ninja Karongee, Romanus Shilongo, Rudi Louw, Martin Kambungu, Ronald Ketjijere, Eslin Kamuhanga, Edward Asino, Heini Isaacks.
Strikers
Eusebio Fredericks, Jerome Louis, Tangeni Shipahu, Roger Katjiteo.