Windhoek — African Stars defeated SKW 1 – 0 in the inaugural final of the annual Namibia Premiership League (NPL) Cup at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium yesterday. Rudi Louw scored the only goal in the first half of what turned out to be a rather lacklustre match.
The winning team collected N$50 000 plus a floating trophy and gold medals, while the runner-up received a consolation cash prize of N$20 000. In the opening match of the two-day knockout tourney, the league’s new boys Rundu Chiefs dispatched Wesbank Tigers 5-4 in the dreaded sudden-death penalty shootout following a 1-all stalemate. Cymot Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) were the 2-0 conquerors of league rookies Tura Magic in the 2nd of a double header on Friday.
Mighty Gunners beat LHU Blue Waters 3-1 and FNB Orlando Pirates netted two unanswered goals against clueless Eleven Arrows to progress to the quarterfinals. African Stars defeated hoodoo team Civics by a solitary goal, while Ramblers caused the biggest upset of the weekend by beating Black Africa 5-4 on penalties after a goalless stalemate.
SKW continued their good run with a 4-3 win on penalties against Chiefs after Imawida surrendered a 2-goal cushion to allow Chiefs to claw their way back into contest (2-2). Pirates easily waltzed past Gunners – sending the men in uniform packing (3-0) in the quarterfinals.
In yesterday’s action, Riaan Cloete’s lone strike against the fast-improving Ramblers was enough to send Stars through to the final. SKW beat Pirates with an identical scoreline to set up a thrilling final against Ali Akan’s revamped Reds.
Copyright © 2012 New Era. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.