Category: Sports

Black Africa (BA) Football Club coach Brian Isaacs said with consistency his team will move out of the relegation zone before the end of the 2022/23 Debmarine Namibia Premiership season.

Black Africa which is currently 14th on the log of a 16-team Premiership stands a chance of being relegated at the end of the season if they don’t improve on their position.

On Saturday at the Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) Sports Field in Olympia, 10-times Namibia Premier League winner BA got the better of their arch-rival Orlando Pirates in the Katutura derby.

Two impressive goals from BA striker Petrus Sakaria saw them win the game 2-0 as they started on their journey of moving up the table away from the relegation zone with eight games left in this year’s season.

BA was the hungrier team on the day as they created more scoring opportunities earlier on in the game but could not find the back of the net until midway through the match when a brilliant strike from Petrus Sakaria saw Pirates goalkeeper Pieter Tshiamijo exposed.

Sakaria once again found the back of the net in the second half as he caught the Pirate defence napping.

In an interview with the media after the match, Isaacs said the win was important because Pirates is a team they don’t want to lose against.

“We cannot afford to lose points and games in the position that we are in. It’s important to be consistent and accumulate as many points as possible,” said Isaacs.

The coach added that the newly recruited BA coach Bobby Samaria will also play the head coach role as they are both going to use their experience to get the team out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Michael Pienaar, Orlando Pirates assistant coach said their players didn’t execute the created opportunities, therefore BA managed to capitalise on theirs.

“We now have to go back to the drawing board to see where to change. We need the points and the players need to show hunger as well as character,” Pienaar said.

In other matches played on Saturday, Citizens won their first match of the season with a 2-1 score against Tura Magic at the Khomasdal Stadium, while African Stars lost their first match of the season against Blue Waters in Walvis Bay.

In Okahandja, Rundu-based Julinho Sporting lost 3-2 to the home team Okahandja United and relegation-threatened Eleven Arrow managed to collect a point at home after a two-all draw against Young Brazilian in Walvis Bay.

At the UNAM stadium here, UNAM collected maximum points after their 1-0 win against Civics, while in the Otjiwarongo, Mighty Gunner beat Life Fighter 1-0.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibia’s mountain bikers Alex Miller and Anri Krugel were over the weekend crowned Nedbank National Cross-Country champions in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.

The Nedbank National Cross-Country championships were held in the coastal town of Swakopmund on Friday and Saturday.

The two-day event saw Miller successfully defending the elite men’s title which he has won in a row since 2019. The elite women’s category saw Krugel dethroning 2022 champion Monique du Plessis, to be crowned the new Nedbank National women’s cross-country champion.

In the short course category held on Friday, Miller won that race after overpowering Hugo Hahn and Tristan de Lange to once again reclaim that title, while in the national cross-country race that was held on Saturday, Miller came third behind South African rider Alan Hatherly and Danish rider Simon Andreassen who finished first and second respectively.

Miller was just a second behind the winner Hatherly. He was in a photo finish with Andreassen. Hatherly and Andreassen could not claim the national title as they are non-Namibian.

In the women’s category, Du Plessis won the short course race on Friday, finishing ahead of Nicola Fester and Luanne van der Schyff.

The elite cross-country women’s category held on Saturday was won by Krugel who dominated that race finishing 20 minutes ahead of Du Plessis who was in second place, and Van der Schyff who was third and 27 minutes behind the winner.

JG van der Westhuizen won the Under-23 men’s category, Kevin Lowe was crowned the Junior men’s champion, and Eden Spangenberg won the Junior women’s category.

Elvira Dickerson was the first woman to win the E-Bike cross-country category while Andre Steinfurth was the first man to win.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, Miller said it remains a privilege to defend the national title.

“Wearing the national flag is always a huge privilege. I am happy to have competed at this well-organised event and the support from the organiser was good,” he said while calling on more Namibians to take up cycling as a sport.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Otjozondjupa will take on Kavango West on Monday in the finals of The Namibian Newspaper Cup tournament underway at Otjiwarongo.

The Otjozondjupa regional football team Monday morning advanced to the final after defeating Oshana Region 3-0.

Kavango West Region made it after beating Hardap on penalties by 4 goals to 3 after a 1-1 draw during their match at the Paresis Sports Complex.

Oshana and Hardap will now face each other in the losers category, for third and fourth spots in the popular annual national tournament.

In the netball, finals are scheduled for Otjozondjupa against Khomas, leaving Omaheke to battle Kavango West in the third and fourth positions.

The finals for both netball and football are scheduled for Monday afternoon here, before the new champions are crowned.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Imo Strikers FC on Friday defeated Dannaz Ladies 1-0 to win the 2023 edition of the Sheroes Cup tournament which was played at the Area 3 football pitch in Abuja.

The only goal was registered in the 57th minute, courtesy of an own goal after a well-taken corner kick by Oparanmegwa Pattra.

The victory ensured that the Owerri-based female team won the pre-season tournament, organised by Ratels Sports Development Foundation (RSDF) for Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Championship and nationwide clubs.

Eight clubs from different parts of the country participated in the week-long competition.

Coach of Imo Strikers, Nelly Orisakwe, attributed their success to hard work and prayer.

“We sacrificed a lot and we worked so hard. For the first time we are participating in this tournament and we won.

“We have seen our weaknesses collectively and individually, I will go back and prepare them for the task ahead.”

Also speaking, Coach of Dannaz Ladies, Bashiru Fatai, said the competition had helped them to discover the loopholes in the team ahead of the commencement of the league.

President of RSDF, Paul Edeh, during the prize presentation, promised to sustain the sponsorship of the competition since it served as pre-season tournament for most clubs.

“This pre-season tournament for Championship and Nationwide teams is in its 5th edition and it was conceptualised to help prepare the clubs ahead of the commencement of the NWFL, Championship and Nationwide leagues.

“Amazingly, the competition has also thrown up lots of talents as well as revealed that the FCT Football Association (FA) is supportive of women football development in Nigeria.

“We will continue to partner with the FCT FA which indeed is one of the best football associations in Nigeria,” Edeh said.

The RSDF boss later presented N2 million as the price money for the teams.

Overall winners of the competition pocketed N500,000 being the prize money in addition to the trophy while the first and second runners up smiled home with N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.

A total of N400,000 was shared among the other six participating teams.

The Foundation also gave N50,000 to each of the eight participating teams for feeding at the commencement of the tournament.

Nicholas Elechi, a member of the Board of Trustees of RSDF, donated N200,000 to the winners while urging them to keep winning.

The Foundation also gave a set of jerseys and five balls each to all participating clubs.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Angola’s National Judo Team won Friday in Luanda the Junior African Cup, with four gold medals, 10 silver and 15 bronze.

The four athletes who won the gold medals are Eldimira Segunda (- 48 Kg), Domingas Jaime (- 63 Kg), Suzana Quimbambata (- 78 Kg) and Santos Sebastião (- 81 Kg).

During the competition held at the Kilamba sports pavilion, the athletes Vânia Quissua (- 48 Kg), Augusto Dala (- 66 Kg), Sónia Lourenço (- 52 Kg), Yola Piedade (- 57 Kg), Cresmila Jaime (- 63 Kg), Josefa João (-70 Kg), Zeferino Gabriel (-73 Kg), Odete Pedro (-78 Kg), José Eduardo (-81 Kg) and Nega Silva (-100 Kg) snatched the silver medals.

On the other hand, Vânia Gabriel, Maria Segunda (- 48 kg), More Tchihaluca (- 52 kg), Neomia Bundy (- 57 kg), Barros Menezes (- 60 kg), Paula Gaspar (- 63 kg), Cornélio Chimbinba, Célcio Cândido and Carlos Augusto (- 66 Kg), Leonardo Rabacal (- 60 Kg), Carlos Augusto (- 66 Kg), Joana Moundo (- 57 Kg), David Caterca (- 81 Kg), Marta Gabriel (- 70 Kg) and Yunilde Lopes (- 78 Kg) won the bronze medals.

In the overall standings, Angola edged second-placed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with two golds and one bronze and third-placed Senegal with one gold and one silver

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Nigeria has won her third game against Ghana by 62 runs at the ongoing Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Women’s Invitational in Lagos.

The game at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Cricket Oval on Friday, saw the Ghanaian team win toss and opted to field.

Nigeria had a slow start to the game but usual suspects Salome Sunday 27(18) and Agatha Obulor 25(34) helped kept the scoreboard ticking for the Nigerian side.

The hosts eventually sailed to 120 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

In the second innings, Ghana relied on Rasidatu Salia 20(29) and Komalpreet Grewal 11(23) to help see the side reach the target but their efforts wasn’t enough.

Nigeria’s Racheal Samson 4/18 and Peculiar Agboya 2/18 did the damage against the Ghanaian side as they limited their West African rivals to 58 for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs.

After the game, Rhyda Ofori, Captain of the Ghanaian side, said there are lots of lessons garnered so far from the tournament.

“We lost all our matches in the tournament, but it’s not the end of Women’s cricket in Ghana.

“We have learnt some lessons here and we will take it home and improve on our game. Hopefully, we will come back better and stronger,” Ofori said.

On her part, Blessing Etim, Captain of the Nigerian team, lauded her team’s efforts, adding however that they needed to do more.

“The win means a lot to us because we have put up a great effort and teamwork to ensure that we go unbeaten throughout this tournament.

“Although we need to come through with our batting and bring our ‘A’ game as well as we face Rwanda on Saturday,” Etim added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ghana has exited the tournament, losing all of its matches to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, along side Nigeria.

Meanwhile, host Nigeria will face Rwanda in the last group game while Sierra Leone will face Cameroon, both on Saturday.

The tournament, which began on Monday, is expected to end on Sunday.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria