Namibia beat Botswana

| Monday March 28, 2011 00:00

 

The goal came from Shirley Cloete who converted from the spot after 75 minutes following Kgomotso Molefe's foul on Zenatha Coleman. The Namibians dominated possession throughout the match and had more chances at goal with the first one coming two minutes after the start when Tomalina Adams kicked the ball wide.

The Gladiators continued on the attacking trend but poor finishing soon became their biggest enemy as they failed to score each time they managed to get the ball in the box. The biggest culprits were Adams and Juliana Skrywer who both had their fair share of chances in front of goal. Botswana got just two chances at goal during the entire first half but both times the Namibian goalkeeper, Susanna Eises, managed to get the ball.

After the halftime break, Botswana came back more rejuvenated and created some opportunities but Eises was on hand to prevent them from scoring. The second half was punctuated with players needing some medical attention from the medics as the match became more physical. More chances were wasted as the Namibians created scoring opportunities but could not get the ball in the back of the net.

At the end of the match, the Gladiators' coach, Jacqui Shipanga said that she was happy with the defence. 'We mostly wanted to toughen up our defence as it is our biggest problem area and I would like to congratulate them on keeping a clean sheet and well done to the goalkeeper as well,' Shipanga said.

'I think in front we were a bit rusty and we wasted a lot of chances that were created, and if we are looking at going to play Nigeria next week, then you don't have to throw chances like that away,' she added.

Namibia will play the Nigerian Falcons in Abuja on April 3 in the first leg of the second round of the London 2012 Olympics qualifiers. 'We are going to work on the finishing, but that does not mean we will go to Nigeria to play attacking football, but our defence has to be spot on.' (Namibian Sport).