Carlos Kambaekwa
8 September 2008
Windhoek — A hotly disputed penalty on the stroke of halftime edged Namibia out of contention for a place in the 27th edition of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) finals to be hosted by Angola in 2010.
The Warriors, who have been basement dwellers for the better part of the campaign, needed to win at all costs to have any mathematical chance of advancing to the next round of the competition that also doubles as the 2010 FIFA World Cup preliminaries.
With a paltry three points to boast about and two rounds of matches left in the marathon competition, Namibia went into their Group-2 match against Kenya's Harambee Stars with their backs against the wall at Nairobi's National Stadium on Saturday.
The Namibians could not get out of first gear and huffed and puffed and it was the hosts who came close to breaking the deadlock when the Namibian defence was caught flat-footed.
The hosts floated a cross from the right wing which evaded the visitors' ball watching rearguard - but giant Kenyan striker John Njoroge glanced his close-range header way off target with goalkeeper Athiel Mbaha rooted to his line.
The Namibians were dealt a major blow when midfield workhorse Oliver Risser was stretched off the field with a bad knee injury after his opposite number plucked his studs in his right knee - an offence that warranted a straight right card, but for some strange reason the rugby-like tackle went unpunished.
The German-based midfielder returned to the field of play after some treatment on the sideline but it was obvious that his time was numbered and he was duly replaced by Lazarus Kaimbi.
Risser's absence clearly disturbed the rhythm of play with Quinton "Magic" Jacobs forced into a more defensive role - limiting attacking options for the jittery Namibians.
Though the Warriors failed to create decent goal scoring opportunities - that oak door of defence failed to yield under immerse pressure with the back four of stalwart George Hummel, Hartman Toromba, Richard "Ou Rich" Gariseb and Steven Goagab standing their ground.
Namibia lost the battle in the midfield where new captain Collin Benjamin struggled to stamp his authority on the park with the hosts dictating matters with some slick passing.
The Warriors appeared clueless on set pieces while Mbaha bravely came off his line to cut a dangerous looking cross in the 25th minute.
Namibia's first real chance fell to Benjamin - but the Hamburg midfielder's attempt went just over the cross bar when he let fly with a left footer on the edge of the penalty box after he left his marker for dead.
Just as Namibia started to find their feet - the referee awarded what looked like a very soft penalty to the hosts after defender Richard Gariseb was adjudged to have trapped the John Njoroge from behind inside the penalty box.
Jamal Mohammed converted from the resultant spot kick to give the Harambee Stars a slender lead on the stroke of halftime.
Kaimbi fluffed a good opportunity when his somewhat tame close range diving header missed the target after some good work by Sydney Plaatjies on the left wing.
Coach Tom Saintfiet brought on Ivan Namaseb for the ineffective Steven Goagab and the burly former Orlando Pirates defender immediately made his presence felt with some darting runs down the right wing.
The Warriors' heavily packed five men midfield of Benjamin, Jacobs, Plaatjies, Kaimbi and Paulus "Wire" Shipanga struggled to supply quality balls to lone striker Wilko Risser and the lanky striker cut a lonely figure upfront.
With time ticking by and no signs of the Warriors getting onto the score sheet - Saintfiret hauled off Shipanga and introduced striker Rudolph Bester in the 64th minute but the move failed to yield any positives though the Namibians finished the stronger of the two sides as they searched in vain for the elusive equalizer.
Benjamin almost brought the Namibians on level terms but his close range effort was scrambled away for a corner in the dying minutes of the match.
The victory moved Kenya two points clear of second placed Guinea in Group 2 while Namibia remained stuck in the basement of the group which they topped on the opening day of competition following a narrow 2-1 home win over Kenya - their only triumph after five rounds of matches. The Warriors play their last match against Zimbabwe in Windhoek, next month.
Zimbabwe and Guinea battled out a goalless draw in the other Group B match played yesterday - a result that leaves the Harambee Stars firmly in the driving seat.
Warriors lineup: Mbaha, Goagab (Namaseb), Hummel, Gariseb, Toromba, Benjamin, Oliver Risser (Kaimbi), Jacobs, Shipanga (Bester), Plaatjies, Wilko Risser.
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