Boitumelo Khutsafalo
1 December 2008
Township Rollers and Extension Gunners played to a 1-1 draw in an exciting be Mobile Premier League encounter at Molepolole Sports Complex on Saturday. The match that marked the launch of be Mobile as the new Premier League sponsors was memorable in many respects.
The new sponsors did their best to advertise themselves in Molepolole with banners in the village. Security was tight and only a couple of negatives spoiled the good job done by the be Mobile crew. First the game started at least an hour late. Second, supporters broke the gates and entered the stadium free.
But a football fan at the stadium praised be Mobile and said it is up to the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and the Premier League clubs to ensure that professionalism remains a priority in the competition. He said that it was disturbing to see the new sponsors doing what they did to make the launch a success only for others to spoil things.
He was unimpressed by the behaviour of supporters who broke the gates. "These people come to the stadium early and then stay outside and when the game is about to kickoff, they all want to enter in large numbers.
These are some of the things that should come to a stop and it is now up to the clubs to ensure that they talk to their supporters," he said. Many dignitaries including BFA officials and the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Gladys Kokorwe attended the match.
Gunners had the best start to the game and dominated the first half as Rollers struggled and looked disjointed in the midfield. Kaone Molefe made a return to the Rollers' line-up and although he showed some good touches, he looked rusty. He surprisingly started the game ahead of Mohamed Chawila.
Gunners' goal came in the 22nd minute through Aime Nzohabonayo who pounced to beat Rollers' youthful goalkeeper, Kabelo Dambe after sloppy defending.
The Peleng Boys could have increased the lead but they wasted numerous opportunities in the first half.
Rollers were forced to make an early substitution, taking out Monageng Thaele and introducing Thapelo Balepi in the 25th minute. Rollers' first chance came late in the first half but Gunners' goalkeeper, Ntungamile Tshoganetso parried away Terrence Mandaza's pile-drive for a corner.
In the second half, Rollers increased the tempo and started taking the game to Gunners. The introduction of Chawila seemed to add spark to Rollers' attack and the team started playing as a unit. Joel Mogorosi's free-kick hit the upright and after scrambling for the rebound in the box, Gunners finally made the clearance.
But 10 minutes later, Rollers got an equaliser through the deadly Mandaza after a brilliant pass from Chawila.
Popa could have buried Gunners in the second half had they utilised their chances. Rollers' appeals for a penalty in the dying minutes were denied by referee Israel Malepa after it appeared that a Gunners' defender handled the ball in the box.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. 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.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
