Namibia misses out on football bronze at AUSC

GABORONE – The under-20 national women’s football team missed out on a bronze medal against Zimbabwe at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Under-20 Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana on Saturday.

The Namibians lost 2-0 in the third-place play-off against Zimbabwe at the University of Botswana stadium.

Namibia started the game on a low note as their opponents dominated play in the opening 25 minutes of the game. The Zimbabwe team had composure throughout the opening minutes of the match, with impressive passes as well as runs.

Team Namibia, in contrast, had little to show in the opening minutes of the match but gained momentum as the game pushed for the half-time break.

The first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, Zimbabwe opened the scoring as early as the 46th minute with a long-range shot, which caught the Namibian goalkeeper Queandra Batista off guard.

Despite conceding an early goal in the second half, the Namibian girls stood their ground and created scoring chances, from which they failed to capitalise.

Batista was once again caught off guard by the Zimbabwean team in the 87th minute with a free kick from long range, which was the final nail in the Namibian’s coffin and guaranteed Zimbabwe the third place and the subsequent bronze medal.

Speaking to the media after the match, Namibian coach Kasaona Uerikondjera said they had the game under control and things would have been different if they did not concede two silly goals from a long range.

“We once again had a good plan which worked out well for us but in the end we failed to win the bronze because of individual mistakes. I am proud of the girls’ hard work, performance and we are now looking forward to other competitions,” she said. – Nampa-AFP