Stars shine in MTC Cup

AFRICAN Stars have now firmly confirmed their status as one of the dominant sides in the country after winning the sought-after MTC Cup against Orlando Pirates at the Independence Stadium on Saturday.

The two sides battled their way to a 0-all draw during 120 minutes of play, only to see the winner emerging after a nerve-wrecking penalty shootout which swung in Stars’ way. Stars won 5-3 during the shootout, which saw their exciting young goalkeeper Maxmillian Mbaeva stopping a shot from Pirates’ red-hot striker Saul Coetzee.Stars midfielder Pat-Navin Uanivi buried the winner which gave the thousands of Stars supporters something to be happy about after a drought of at least ten years without a major cup in the bag.Stars supporters, who chanted their favourite slogan of ‘Stars stay stars’ for the team, came out in huge numbers compared to their counterparts, and this was also confirmed as a record attendance in the competition since it was called into life in 1990.Stars picked up their first final win after already reaching the final of the FNB Cup twice.They played against Blue Waters in the 2005 final which they lost, before they fell to Civics in the same competition last year.The victory means a lot to their many diehard supporters, as it also brought down the curtain on the domestic game this season.The match, which can be summed up as a classic final, produced all the goods, but Stars can be credited for their superior performance throughout the game.There was a lot of pressure coming from the Stars wingers in Brouwers Litombo and Freedom Puriza, but the Pirates defence was steady despite that.Stars’ chief striker Gerson Katjatenja was the man targeted and virtually had no clear chances at goal as Ivan Makina and Ivan Namaseb stood tall.There was also little room for manoeuvring for the Pirates strikers, but they had their best chance in the second half when substitute striker Ettiene Beukes waited for too long to put the ball away before it was cleared by Mali Ngarizemo from the lines.Mbaeva was off his lines and the intervention by Ngarizemo, who recovered well, saved his side to be in contention and to reach the penalties.Ngarizemo was named the Man of the Match after the encounter, while captain Andrew Tjahikika also showed that he can be national team material as he defended with great commitment.As customary, Pirates duo of Patrick Jagger and Klaas Blom provided for some scintillating moves in midfield, while for Stars, Johannes Seibeb surged ahead with purpose every time he was in possession.There was little room for error for the teams as both wanted to land the N$350 000 that was at stake, while neither wanted to disappoint the fans who urged them on during the entire game.Orlando Pirates chairman Mabos Vries accepted the defeat, saying that the refereeing was up to standard, while his team was just unlucky not to capitalise during the penalty shootout.”Generally I am happy with the way the boys played.We have a good side for the future,” he said.Stars official Best Karamata, however, was critical about his team’s media coverage, saying the media were consistently biased and never wrote anything good about Stars.Hundreds of Stars supporters were yesterday still celebrating the victory after many partied the night away at ‘The Mall’ in Katutura, just behind the Herero Commando hall.Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako was among the many supporters in the VIP stand.He was also introduced to the players before the match.The Namibian Sport learnt that the Stars supporters were treated to a feast yesterday after goats and cows were slaughtered to mark the dawn of a new era for one of the country’s oldest clubs.South African PSL Played Sunday May 20 Celtic 1 Maritzburg Utd 1 Wits 3 Orlando Pirates 2 Kaizer Chiefs 1 Silver Stars 2 Swallows 0 SuperSport 0 Played Saturday May 19 Ajax 1 AmaZulu 0 Leopards 2 Santos 2 Arrows 1 Benoni Utd 0Stars won 5-3 during the shootout, which saw their exciting young goalkeeper Maxmillian Mbaeva stopping a shot from Pirates’ red-hot striker Saul Coetzee.Stars midfielder Pat-Navin Uanivi buried the winner which gave the thousands of Stars supporters something to be happy about after a drought of at least ten years without a major cup in the bag.Stars supporters, who chanted their favourite slogan of ‘Stars stay stars’ for the team, came out in huge numbers compared to their counterparts, and this was also confirmed as a record attendance in the competition since it was called into life in 1990.Stars picked up their first final win after already reaching the final of the FNB Cup twice.They played against Blue Waters in the 2005 final which they lost, before they fell to Civics in the same competition last year.The victory means a lot to their many diehard supporters, as it also brought down the curtain on the domestic game this season.The match, which can be summed up as a classic final, produced all the goods, but Stars can be credited for their superior performance throughout the game.There was a lot of pressure coming from the Stars wingers in Brouwers Litombo and Freedom Puriza, but the Pirates defence was steady despite that.Stars’ chief striker Gerson Katjatenja was the man targeted and virtually had no clear chances at goal as Ivan Makina and Ivan Namaseb stood tall.There was also little room for manoeuvring for the Pirates strikers, but they had their best chance in the second half when substitute striker Ettiene Beukes waited for too long to put the ball away before it was cleared by Mali Ngarizemo from the lines.Mbaeva was off his lines and the intervention by Ngarizemo, who recovered well, saved his side to be in contention and to reach the penalties.Ngarizemo was named the Man of the Match after the encounter, while captain Andrew Tjahikika also showed that he can be national team material as he defended with great commitment.As customary, Pirates duo of Patrick Jagger and Klaas Blom provided for some scintillating moves in midfield, while for Stars, Johannes Seibeb surged ahead with purpose every time he was in possession.There was little room for error for the teams as both wanted to land the N$350 000 that was at stake, while neither wanted to disappoint the fans who urged them on during the entire game.Orlando Pirates chairman Mabos Vries accepted the defeat, saying that the refereeing was up to standard, while his team was just unlucky not to capitalise during the penalty shootout.”Generally I am happy with the way the boys played.We have a good side for the future,” he said.Stars official Best Karamata, however, was critical about his team’s media coverage, saying the media were consistently biased and never wrote anything good about Stars.Hundreds of Stars supporters were yesterday still celebrating the victory after many partied the night away at ‘The Mall’ in Katutura, just behind the Herero Commando hall.Herero Paramount Chief Kuaima Riruako was among the many supporters in the VIP stand.He was also introduced to the players before the match.The Namibian Sport learnt that the Stars supporters were treated to a feast yesterday after goats and cows were slaughtered to mark the dawn of a new era for one of the country’s oldest clubs.South African PSL Played Sunday May 20 Celtic 1 Maritzburg Utd 1 Wits 3 Orlando Pirates 2 Kaizer Chiefs 1 Silver Stars 2 Swallows 0 SuperSport 0 Played Saturday May 19 Ajax 1 AmaZulu 0 Leopards 2 Santos 2 Arrows 1 Benoni Utd 0