KK United head coach ,says his newly promoted side will take valuable lessons from their first taste of top-flight football, while Millennium Julinho head coach Luis Nelson credited tactical discipline for their winning start.
Their contrasting reactions followed Millennium Julinho's 1-0 victory over KK United at the Rundu Sports Stadium as the two Kavango representatives opened their campaigns in Namibia's premier division.
The fixture marked a significant milestone for football across the two regions, with both Kavango East and Kavango West represented in top-tier domestic football. For newly promoted KK United, the encounter provided an immediate test of life at the highest level, with several squad members making their top-flight debuts.
Wakudumo acknowledged that his side is still adapting to the tempo and demands of the league, framing the opening defeat as a crucial learning experience for his developing squad.
"For us as a newbie, we're still learning. You could see on the pitch that probably 80 or 90% of the players who started the match today are playing in the Premier League for the first time, so it's not easy but for us the team is something that we needed to experience so that we learn and we see," Wakudumo said.
Millennium Julinho executed a measured game plan, converting sustained first-half pressure into the match-winning goal.
Captain Jessy Nanyemba highlighted that tactical patience and structured defensive shape were vital to controlling the early stages of the contest.
"We had a game plan, and we stuck to it as we started the match we didn't want to have a high press but just wait for them to come in our half and once they are in our half we tried to break in we maintain that for the first 15 minutes until we had to get our goal," Nanyemba explained.
The regional derby remained fiercely contested following the breakthrough, with both sides battling for possession in a high-intensity encounter marked by several bookings.
Despite the loss, KK United central midfielder Petrus Tulonga commended his team's resilience while noting areas for tactical refinement.
"I'm proud of the boys we kept up the fight even though we still need to go back to the drawing board," Tulonga stated.
For Millennium Julinho, securing the opening win provided early momentum, with head coach Luis Nelson targeting a strong campaign near the top of the table.
"To our supporters, please don't stop coming, our deputy minister said we gonna win the league, so it put us in pressure and we are okay in working to try to that so we hoping we will be in the top 3 this season," Nelson added.
The 1-0 victory earned Millennium Julinho all three points and placed them sixth on the league standings, while KK United shift focus to regrouping ahead of their next fixture.