Africa-Press – Namibia. RAMBLERS and SKW won the u17 and u15 titles respectively of the DTS Windhoek Invitational Youth Football tournament at the Ramblers field over the weekend.
In the u17 final, Ramblers had their goalie, Riya Usurua to thank after he pulled off two saves in the penalty shoot out to give them a 4-2 penalty victory against Athletic Club Football Academy (ACFA). ACFA had the better chances in the first half, with Reinhardt Lamperth and Peter Moller coming close.
After the break, however, the momentum swung Ramblers’ way, with Aiden Uazerua a constant menace, while Eli Tjiunde missed a great chance when he just had the goalie to beat, but shot wide of the target.
Ramblers’ pressure paid off when they won a penalty after a hand ball in the box, but ACFA keeper Ricardo Bekeur pulled off a fine save from Gabriel Micheletti’s spot kick.
Chances were few and far between in the second half and the match had to be decided on penalties. Here, Usurua rose to the occasion with a great performance as he brought off two saves to give Ramblers the victory, and send his jubilant team mates wild with delight.
The u17 semifinals were also close affairs, with ACFA A beating their B team 1-0, while Ramblers beat Kaizen Football Academy (KFA) 4-2 on penalties after the teams were tied 1-1 at full time.
ACFA B won the bronze medal after beating KFA 2-1 in the third place play-off. The u15 final between SKW and ACFA was also a close affair with both sides having their chances.
ACFA’s goalie pulled off a fine save when he tipped a long range free-kick for a corner, while at the other end, a curling shot by Tendai Nyandoro went narrowly wide.
ACFA stepped up the tempo in the second half, but SKW survived the onslaught and took the lead when they were rather fortunate to win a penalty for a handball and Darryl Bock scored from the spot to seal a 1-0 victory.
In the u15 semifinals, SKW beat Football School Windhoek (FSW) 1-0, while ACFA beat Ramblers after a marathon penalty shoot-out. After a goalless draw at full-time the match went to penalties and ACFA eventually clinched their place in the final with a 11-10 shootout victory.
Ramblers won the bronze medal after beating FSW 5-4 on penalties, with the sides level at one-all at the end of normal time. Reinhardt Lamperth of ACFA won the u17 top goal scorer award with 15 goals, while Brudinho Kandirikirira of FSW and Robinho van Wyk of KFA shared the u15 goal scorers award with 15 goals each.
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