Windhoek Gymnasium draw with SKW …Kasaona FA edge Onaandaa

Early Saturday morning, Windhoek Gymnasium went head-to-head with Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) U/15 at the Jan Möhr football grounds in an entertaining MTC HopSol Youth League encounter.

Both teams started the match with plenty of energy, creating chances and looking to gain an early advantage.

Windhoek Gymnasium showed good organisation in possession, while SKW responded with determined defending and quick attacking moves whenever they won the ball.

The first half became a closely contested tactical battle, with neither side establishing clear dominance. Both teams had opportunities to break the deadlock, but disciplined defending and good goalkeeping kept the score level going into the break.

“We kept most of the ball in the half, and it was unfortunate that there were not many scoring chances, but tactically, in the second half we were playing very good football, keeping them in the half. They are a tactical team. They attack you from the wings; they have a very nice left winger who kicks the ball from distance, but we managed to keep him at bay so he couldn’t come up front. He is a very good player, a promising player, but then yes,” he said.

“In the second half, we told them we were just going to double a bit in the middle so we could keep them in the half again, and then when we got a chance, we took the ball to the lines and tried to counter from the lines. I think it worked really well, and we managed to score first. We managed to get a goal, but then, unfortunately, after two or three minutes, they got an equaliser again because they were sleeping at the back. Everyone wanted to attack to get more goals, and then we got a side, and then they scored again to capitalise. But yes, it was a very nice game.”

Murangi felt his boys followed his instructions when they went into the second half, which changed the flow of the game for them.

“I think the instructions were followed very well, especially from the beginning. In the second half, we tightened them a little, and then it went very well. I think they won us in the first leg; I think it was 3-0. Then, in the second round, we could score first and then manage them. The good plan was to manage them, and then we could also counter them, and it worked very well for us,” he explained.

“I think I’m very happy with the performance, and we’re just looking forward to improving further. We had three up-front players who did not pitch today, and I think that with their presence we could have put in some good efforts, because they are good starters. Two of them played a regional team, and I think they would have given us a good performance as well. But yes, I think it went very well.”

SKW’s coach Risto Shikomba said his boys gave everything and followed the instructions, which he was grateful for, even though they could not collect the three points in the end.

“The result doesn’t reflect the game; we had plenty of chances, but you could not convert all. A draw is okay; at least we managed to get one point rather than nothing. The other thing is that the boys have improved since the previous games. We’ve been struggling, but we improved toward the end of the week. Everything went right, apart from scoring.”

“We were just not taking our chances; I believe we were the better team. Usually our opponents dominate us, but today you could see the boys were hungry to play. They had fun, and they enjoyed the game. I’m happy; there’s still room for improvement, but overall, I’m happy,” he ended.

Elsehwere

Kasaona Football Academy had a tough encounter against Onaanda Football Academy’s U/17 at the Jan Möhr football field late on Friday afternoon.

Kasoana FA looked more composed in the opening minutes and came out firing, finding the back of the net first, putting themselves in the driving seat. However, a moment of lost concentration and confidence allowed Onaanda to fight back and make it 1–1.

As the match headed into its final moments, the intensity rose as both teams pushed for the winner. In the final minutes, Kasoana delivered a dramatic late winner to seal a 2–1 victory and collect all three points.

Kasona FA’s captain Marcelino Smith said it was not the performance they wanted, but at least they got the result in the end.

“We got the late goal at the end of the game, and we are happy about it. We have a positive spirit in the camp of not giving up till the final whistle.”

“The only negative areas we need to work on are the lack of teamwork, with some discipline issues. Our forwards were also not so clinical in finishing; we also did not stick to our tactics, so we will work on this going forward,” he ended.

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