Brave Warriors striker Elmo Kambindu scored his third goal in three matches following Namibia’s one-all draw with Malawi on Tuesday at the Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth during the ongoing Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup tournament.

The match, monitored online, was played in rainy and windy conditions. It saw both teams produce a lacklustre performance in the first half, characterised by poor passes and wrong decision making.

Both teams created decent chances in the first half, with Namibia’s player of the tournament so far, Kambindu, twice shooting over the bar after having breached Malawi’s static defence.

The two teams went into the halftime tied 0-0, but the Brave Warriors struck seven minutes into the second half through the in-form Kambindu.

The lanky Namibian striker received an inch-perfect pass from captain Willy Stephanus, which he chested before turning his defender and slotting into the bottom lower corner of William Thole in goal for Malawi.

Namibia then took their foot off the pedal as they looked to frustrate their opponents through processional football, but conceded in the 74th minute through substitute Mician Mhone.

The stocky winger latched on to a loose ball in the 18 yard box and struck a thunderous shot into the far post of the Namibia goal, leaving goalkeeper Lloydt Kazapua stranded.

Malawi pushed for a winner as they looked to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages, but ran out of time as the match ended 1-1.

Namibia now has seven points, ahead of Senegal with six points, while Mozambique has four points in third place.

Malawi and Zimbabwe both have two points on fourth and fifth, and are now out of the running for the semi-final berth.

Namibia must avoid a defeat to Mozambique on Wednesday for them to qualify for the semi-finals.

Namibia coach Bobby Samaria said the draw feels like a loss as the aim was to maintain the winning streak.

“It was not to be. We had very good chances, especially in the second half, which we did not convert. We are now on seven points with a match to play tomorrow and we stand a good chance of progressing to the next round,” he said.

Samaria added that Wednesday’s game will see the technical team making further changes as they seek to give other players a chance to play.

Source: Namibia Press Agency