The FNB Women Super League title race is hotting up, with FC Ongos opening up a three-point lead over Mighty Gunners after the weekend's matches.
FC Ongos collected maximum points after beating Khomas Nampol 2-1 in Windhoek on Saturday and Desert Foxes 4-0 at Walvis Bay the next day, while Gunners dropped crucial points in a 1-1 draw against Arrows Ladies on Sunday, after beating Unam Bokkies 4-1 on Saturday.
With only five rounds of matches remaining in the league, the title race between the 2024 champions FC Ongos, and last year's champions Mighty Gunners is destined to go down to the wire as they pull further away from the chasing pack.
After 17 matches, FC Ongos lead the log on 44 points - three points ahead of Gunners, while Unam Bokkies trail 10 points behind in third place.
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After a comfortable 4-1 victory against Unam Bokkies on Saturday, Mighty Gunners slipped up when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Arrows Ladies yesterday.
Gunners owner and coach Salome Iyambo yesterday said she regretted their wasted opportunities against Arrows, but she also deplored the poor organisation that saw the match starting more than an hour late.
Chalk lines had to be repainted with Top Score, and faulty nets had to be used while parts of the pitch were waterlogged after a sprinkler was left running.
"We are trying to professionalise the league, but we are taking baby steps and the organisation was very poor. Yesterday, the sprinklers were on during the match between Arrows Ladies and Windhoek City and the goalie had to dodge the water the whole time.
"Now the pitch is waterlogged and you can't kick the ball at certain parts of the field. We also can't see the lines and had to use Top Score to paint new lines," she said.
"It was a good game, but we didn't stick to the game plan. They took the lead against the run of play and then we dominated and created at least four clear-cut chances from crosses from the wing, but we couldn't capitalise," Iyambo said.
"But all is not lost. There are five games to go and anything can still happen, so we are not giving up," she said.
FC Ongos, meanwhile, showed great resolve to beat Khomas Nampol 2-1 after going 1-0 behind in the first half.
Captain Lovisa Mulunga, who scored the winning goal with a great long range shot, said they were determined to win the match.
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"It was a very intense game, but it was very important that we win the game to maintain our lead. It was not easy, but at least we came out victorious. The idea was just to win the game - trailing 1-0 in the first half, we really wanted to come back in the second half and prove ourselves and not lose in the second leg against Khomas Nampol again, so we had to make a statement against them," she said.
"The title race creates both excitement and pressure and we are taking both as they come. It's very good that the league is competitive, and it just goes to show that the game is growing and that it's not just Ongos leading with a big margin at the top of the log," Muliunga said.
The weekend's other results were as follows:
Unam Bokkies 1-1 Windhoek City; Khomas Nampol 4-1 Julinho Athletic; African Stars Queens 1-1 VPower Angels; Mighty Angels 2-1 Nust Babes; Desert Foxes 0-5 Julinho Athletic; African Stars Queens 4-1 Nust Babes; Mighty Angels 0-2 VPower Angels; and Arrows Ladies 2-0 Windhoek City.
