Civics 1 Petro Atletico 1 10.02.2007
Cortesy by Namibiasport
Civics’ African Champions League campaign came to an abrupt end after they were held to a 1-all draw by Angola’s Petro Atletico at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium on Saturday.
The result sees Petro Atletico going through 2-1 on aggregate to the second round, after they beat Civics 1-0 in Luanda a fortnight ago.
Civics started on the attack but early efforts by William Chilufya and Geoffrey Roman were ineffective. Franklin April also wasted a freekick, blasting it over the top.
Atletico’s defence held out and the visitors caught Civics on their first counterattack. Santana went clear on the left wing and centred to Manucho who blasted the ball into the net.
The visitors grew in confidence and launched more attacks with Chinho having a shot cleared, while Santana’s header flew over the crossbar.
Civics, however, struggled to find their rhythm and looked slow and devoid of ideas when in possession.
A different side
Civics looked a different side after the break and immediately went on the attack.
Rudi Louw had two early shots saved, while two long range shots by Tugela Tuyeni went wide.
The chances continued to come Civics’ way, but they didn’t take them. First Floris Diergaardt wasted too much time in the box, and then a great throughball by Rudi Louw put Chilufya clear, but with only the goalie to beat, he blasted the ball over the crossbar.
There was drama in the 25th minute when Civics won a freekick on the edge of the box and Diergaardt hit a great shot into the back of the net. The referee however seemingly wasn’t ready and ordered the kick to be retaken. Diergardt once again stepped up and blasted the ball against the crossbar before it bounced clear.
Further efforts by Tuyeni, April and Jamu Ngatjizeko were all wide of the mark and it seemed that luck had deserted the Civilians.
With three minutes remaining, however, they finally scored when Atletico’s keeper, Lama, fumbled a shot by Diergaardt and Brian Brendell was on hand to blast it into the net.
But it was too little too late and Atletico held on for the draw which saw them go through 2-1 on aggregate.