05 Jul 2022

Botswana senior women national football team will enter a lion’s den when it faces Nigeria in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Group C clash tomorrow.

One of Africa’s power houses and the tournament defending champions, Nigeria, will approach the game like a wounded buffalo following a 1-2 loss to South Africa.

On one hand, Botswana’s Mares will be buoyed by their 4-2 victory over Burundi on Monday.

However, coach Gaolethoo Nkutlwisang said in an interview that their focus had shifted from the victory to the fierce battle with Nigeria.

She said they watched Nigeria’s game against South Africa. This enabled them to identify their next opponents’ strengths and weaknesses.

She said, should the Mares speedy players come to the party, Nigeria would be in for a rude awakening.

A win or draw will be a welcome result, Nkutlwisang added.

She said the pitch, which was the one where they played Burundi, could give Botswana an advantage as it was not that big.

 Meanwhile, Botswana sent shockwaves in Group C when they ran riot against Burundi in their first WAFCON game.

Had Botswana forwards been clinical, the team could have won with avalanche of goals.

The Mares’ historic first goal came courtesy of Keitumetse ‘Ben 10’ Dithebe in the 44th minute.

Immediately after the break, Lesego ‘Shudy’ Radiakanyo scored the second goal while the red-hot Refilwe ‘Seven’ Tholakelo scored a brace to take The Mares to the summit of the Group C log.

One area of concern for the technical team should be the Mares’s defence.

Defenders made some basic mistakes that led to Burundi scoring two goals through Sandrine Niyonkuru.

A world-class performance saw Tholakelo taking the woman of the match award.

Nkutlwisang, who celebrated her birthday yesterday, hailed players for their reselience and hard work.

 She said, despite not playing well in the first half, they approached the second stanza with hunger for the goals.

In the first half, she said they gave opponents time and space to think, therefore according them room to maneuver.

The second half saw Botswana playing as a unit and consequently, piled pressure on Burundi, something that eventually paid dividends.  ENDS