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 By Majuto Omary
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. The national women’s soccer team, Twiga Stars, will be out to finish off Brave Gladiators of Namibia when they clash in the second leg of the preliminary round of the Africa Championship at the National Stadium today.
Twiga Stars hit the Namibia team 2-0 in the first leg in Windhoek two weeks ago, courtesy of goals by strikers Asha Rashid and Mwanahamis Omary.But, as the preliminary round action ends this weekend, there is still everything for both teams to play for and Namibia have vowed to turn the tables and stun the hosts.
Twiga Stars barely rested after returning home last week, breaking for two days and resuming training last Thursday under the tutelage of Charles Boniface Mkwasa.
The home team were yesterday busy, perfecting their tactics for the anxiously awaited showdown, and coach Mkwasa promised not to take the Namibia team lightly.“The Namibia side has been preparing thoroughly for the match and indications are that the team standard and level of play will be up from the previous game,” said Mkwasa.
“We have also done our part though and have been in camp since last week and I think the girls are ready for the match,” he added.
“The friendly match we played against Bunge team on Wednesday also helped us a lot and we are looking forward to getting a positive result.”Brave Gladiators, have been in the country since Friday, undergoing light training for what promises to be an intriguing affair.
They were in defiant mood at a training session at the National Stadium yesterday, despite facing a herculean task in today’s encounter.Striker Thomalina Adams, one of the Brave Gladiators’ key players, said she and her team mates were ready to stun their hosts and sail through.
"We have a side that can go far. After the home defeat we've got to react. It's obvious we need a win, and we have the possibility to do just that," she stressed.Namibia have a mountain to climb as they have to score at least three clear goals in today’s clash to go through to the next round.
The hosts, on the other hand, need just a draw today to remain in contention for a ticket for the finals to be held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in November.Four teams have kissed goodbye to this preliminary round of the competition. They are Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and South Africa.
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