Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Brave Warriors’ recent success at the Cosafa Cup has inspired a new generation of youngsters, who are currently competing in the MTC Hopsol Youth Soccer League.
With the local premier league now in limbo for more than three years, the MTC Hopsol Youth League is probably the only organised league still running in the country, and national coach Collin Benjamin, who is also the director of the Hopsol League, has turned his attention to the youth, while also tapping into this development programme.
He called up several under 21 players, like Tuli Nashixwa, Ngero Katua, Tjipe Karuuombe and Lionel Routh, some of whom have also appeared in the Hopsol League and his gamble paid off as Namibia produced some great performances in Durban to reach the final against Zambia which they narrowly lost after extra time.
On Saturday, the Hopsol League continued with numerous matches in various age groups, and DTS u15 coach Jarrod Kisting said that the Brave Warriors’ success had certainly inspired their players.
“Our players have been inspired by the Brave Warriors’ performances and I think the promotion of young players into the national team is great for the country as a whole, because we are promoting the youth which is necessary for development,” he said.
“I think it has been great for all the younger players and helpful for me as a coach, to offer some motivation and tell them that this could be them in a couple of days,” he added.
DTS beat Kamuvare Football Club 1-0 in a tight encounter, with Joslin Esser scoring the winning goal early in the second half, and Kisting acknowledged that it was a tough game.
“It was our first weekend back after a long break, we’ve had some absentees at training so its been tough, but we battled it out. We didn’t make use of our chances, but I think we dominated in terms of possession and we got the three points which is all that matters,” he said.
The win maintained DTS’ title challenge as they are now second on the log in Group A, three points behind Kaizen Football Academy, and Kisting said he expected a close title race.
“I think the title race will go down to the wire. KFA are extremely good and they have got a lot of depth – there are so many boys playing in that team, so I think it will be a tough season. We’ve got some u13 boys who are now playing for the u15s, which is great, so I think if we can just keep focussing on improving, we will be in with a shout at the end of the season,” he said.
KFA, meanwhile, entrenched their position at the top with two emphatic 6-0 victories against Fortis Football Academy and Ramblers B.
Against Fortis, their striker Panduleni Shinana scored a brace, while Kediemetse Modise, Kieyondre Maletzky, Tjiunatjo Kakuenje and Armando Bushney each scored one goal.
Their goal-scorers against Ramblers B were Shinana, Kakuenje, Bushney, Elstin Goliath and Tewaan Mukororo.
After their win against Fortis, KFA coach Llewellyn Bock said they were well prepared.
“We were quite well prepared, and we got what we were looking for. During the winter break we worked on individual players, to help them develop certain areas of their game, and their individual performances today helped us get a better overall team performance,” he said.
KFA are now in the driving seat, leading Group A and with an impressive goal aggregate of +45, but Bock was not getting carried away by their title chances.
“My boys know that the next important event after this is on Monday afternoon when we’ll be back in training. They always look forward to training because for them it’s more important to develop specific skill sets, so we are not looking forward to anything beyond Monday afternoon,” he said.
Third-placed ACFA A also remained in the title after posting two emphatic victories – 10-0 against Fortis and 6-0 against Ramblers B.
In Group B, Collin Benjamin Soccer Academy moved into second place behind Ramblers A after beating Baller Boys 4-0, while Riverheights Football Academy remain top of Group C after beating Football School Windhoek 1-0 and drawing 3-3 to second-placed SKW.
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