The Taifa Stars kept their ambition of a place in the knockout stage alive with the first victory in the ongoing competition
Namibia were eliminated from the African Nations Championship after going down 1-0 against Tanzania on Saturday in Limbe.
Farid Musa scored the goal that eliminated the Brave Warriors in the second half as Tanzania picked up their first win after losing the opener against Zambia.
The win kept the Taifa Stars' hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive as they are now third in Group D while Zambia and Guinea top the group with four points each. Winning the final match means Namibia will not finish in the second place and that means they have bid the tournament goodbye.
All the officials of the match were females and that means the Tanzania-Namibia encounter became the first African senior men’s game to be officiated by women officials.
Lidya Tafesse of Ethiopia, assistant referees Bernadettar Asimenye Kwimbira of Malawi and Nigeria’s Mimisen Agatha Iyorhe, were the officials for the game.
Musa scored when Namibia’s goalkeeper Kamaijanda Ndisiro was unable to effectively deal with a cross from Ayub Lyanga in the 65th minute and that invited the Yanga SC forward, who slotted home the opener.
The Brave Warriors came close to equalising in the 77th minute when Isaskar Guribab tricked Tanzania’s goalkeeper Aishi Manula but his effort went wide.
Meanwhile, Zambia and Guinea recorded a 1-1 draw in their second game of the tournament.
Spencer Sauta got Zambia the equaliser late after Victor Kantabaduno had given the Syli National a lead. Kantabaduno scored in the 58th minute while Zambia fought and made sure the tie ended in a draw when Sauta found the back of the net with a header in the 87th minute.
Guinea were lucky not to concede late in the first half when Moussa Camara left his line but ended up punching the ball into Emmanuel Chabula’s path. The Zambian striker slipped and that gave Guinea’s Mohammed Traore a chance to clear the danger.
The game, which was defined by physicality, ended with either side unable to get a goal to separate them. Namibia will face Zambia in the final group game while Tanzania and Guinea will clash in a very decisive game.
The Taifa Stars’ win gave a glimpse of hope to the East African fans especially after Uganda fell 2-1 to Togo on Friday.