With young guns in the front line, the senior national football team brushed off plucky Seychelles
The Foals grazed with not much ease in a foreign land and unsurprisingly so as they huffed and puffed to get past a stubborn Seychelles side, which proved a hard-nut to crack at King Zwelithini stadium in Durban. Thato Kebue’s second half strike was however enough to see the Zebras begin their 2022 COSAFA cup campaign with a win.
One of the ‘Eleven Angels’, who recently were the reason for Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ misery, was once again out on the field of play to perform a miracle. Coach Mogomotsi Mpote rewarded the 19 year old Monty ‘Montana’ Enosa with a starting berth in the Zebras line up, with Gape Thibedi (20) and Omphile Ramoagi (18) starting on the bench.
In his pre match comments, Mpote stated that he wanted his youthful team to freely express themselves, adding that COSAFA cup is a developmental tournament which gives young players an opportunity to showcase their talents.
First stanzas of the game saw the Zebras control the game, with senior statesmen on the side, Lebogang Ditsele and Mothusi Cooper, having full control of the game but without penetration. Seychelles however, showed glimpses of their attacking prowess in transitions to threaten the
Zebras' defense on a couple of occasions. The youthful Zebras side were made to sweat to secure their first win of COSAFA Cup 2022 and it was not until the 49th minute when the captain, Thato Kebue rose high to open the scoring with a powerful header from a corner kick, which was also the teams’ first shot on target.
Botswana has not lost against Seychelles in the competition, winning all their four previous encounters, but yesterday’s win was not a walk in the park for the Zebras.
The Zebras managed 12 shots at goal but only two were on target as the attacking trio of Kitso Mpuisang, Monty Enosa and Baokeditse Talane struggled to combine against a solid defensive block of Seychelles; Mpote will however be content with the result as they denied their opponents to register a shot on target.
“We struggled to match them aerially and we emphasized the need to play through phases to build up attacks and I’d say the boys did very well. We needed to dominate the midfield because we knew they will try to be compact in that area. We had some young boys who are still learning and in the first half our connection in the frontline was not up to scratch but it’s a learning curve for them and we have to be patient,” Mpote shared after the match.
Odirile Lekoba of Extension Gunners, Orapa United’s Tlamelo Kolagano and the duo of Gaborone United, Omphile Ramoagi and Gape Thibedi also made their debut in the senior national colours while 20 year old Jwaneng Galaxy goalkeeper, deputized Goitseone Phoko. Lebogang Ditsele was named the man of the match.
In 2019, Mpote led the Zebras to the final of the tournament where the team lost to Zambia, he reiterated that he will give the young players a chance as that will also ready them for competitions such as the Olympics qualifiers and senior national team duties.
One of the ‘Eleven Angels’, who recently were the reason for Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ misery, was once again out on the field of play to perform a miracle. Coach Mogomotsi Mpote rewarded the 19 year old Monty ‘Montana’ Enosa with a starting berth in the Zebras line up, with Gape Thibedi (20) and Omphile Ramoagi (18) starting on the bench.
In his pre match comments, Mpote stated that he wanted his youthful team to freely express themselves, adding that COSAFA cup is a developmental tournament which gives young players an opportunity to showcase their talents.
First stanzas of the game saw the Zebras control the game, with senior statesmen on the side, Lebogang Ditsele and Mothusi Cooper, having full control of the game but without penetration. Seychelles however, showed glimpses of their attacking prowess in transitions to threaten the
Zebras' defense on a couple of occasions. The youthful Zebras side were made to sweat to secure their first win of COSAFA Cup 2022 and it was not until the 49th minute when the captain, Thato Kebue rose high to open the scoring with a powerful header from a corner kick, which was also the teams’ first shot on target.
Botswana has not lost against Seychelles in the competition, winning all their four previous encounters, but yesterday’s win was not a walk in the park for the Zebras.
The Zebras managed 12 shots at goal but only two were on target as the attacking trio of Kitso Mpuisang, Monty Enosa and Baokeditse Talane struggled to combine against a solid defensive block of Seychelles; Mpote will however be content with the result as they denied their opponents to register a shot on target.
“We struggled to match them aerially and we emphasized the need to play through phases to build up attacks and I’d say the boys did very well. We needed to dominate the midfield because we knew they will try to be compact in that area. We had some young boys who are still learning and in the first half our connection in the frontline was not up to scratch but it’s a learning curve for them and we have to be patient,” Mpote shared after the match.
Odirile Lekoba of Extension Gunners, Orapa United’s Tlamelo Kolagano and the duo of Gaborone United, Omphile Ramoagi and Gape Thibedi also made their debut in the senior national colours while 20 year old Jwaneng Galaxy goalkeeper, deputized Goitseone Phoko. Lebogang Ditsele was named the man of the match.
In 2019, Mpote led the Zebras to the final of the tournament where the team lost to Zambia, he reiterated that he will give the young players a chance as that will also ready them for competitions such as the Olympics qualifiers and senior national team duties.
