Zambezi and Khomas Region have been crowned football and netball champions respectively, of the 20th Edition of the 2022 Namibian Newspaper Cup at Oshakati Stadium on Sunday.
In football, underdogs Zambezi started like a house on fire with speedy winger Munguni Chizabulyo heading in a harmless cross from the right which had caught the Kavango defence in sixes and sevens within two minutes of the match.
Kavango seemed to be in panic mode as they lost possession unnecessarily while committing too many fouls leading to three of their players being booked in the first half.
However, in the thirteen minutes, Kavango had three successive shots blocked by the Zambezi defence following a rare attack.
The match became physical as tackles were flying in all over the place, with the Zambezi almost capitalising on a deflected back pass to add a second goal, but were denied by the crossbar in the 40th minute.
The Zambezi took a 1-0 lead to halftime and immediately struck seven minutes into the second half through Chizabulyo who took advantage of the sleepy Kavango defence to sneak a powerful shot in the near post and make it 2-0.
Kavango fought back bravely and pulled one back through Tarah Siwombe whose powerful left-footed shot found the back of the net.
However, the Zambezi, who had never progressed from the group stages of this tournament held on for a famous victory.
Martin Mandume from Ohangwena was named top goalscorer and player of the tournament.
Zambezi goalkeeper and Captain Beckson Sibeso were named goalie of the tournament.
Ohangwena finished third after beating Khomas 1-0 in the third playoff decider.
In Netball, the Khomas Region overcame fierce rivals and defending champions Erongo via a 31-24 scoreline where Khomas captain Louise van der Westhuizen was named woman of the match and best defender of the tournament.
The best shooter award was given to Sam Mathias of the Oshana region, while Aila Andreas from the Oshana region was named best midcourt player and Grace Matjayi from Otjozondjupa was named player of the tournament.
Omusati finished third while Oshana ended in the netball competition.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
