02 Oct 2022

The senior national women football team enlivened the Independence Day celebrations by beating Namibia’s Brave Gladiators 2-1 in a friendly at the National Stadium on Friday.

From start of the game, it was evident that The Mares coach, Gaolethoo Nkutlwisang, was pushing for a win, which was eventually granted by goals from Ontlametse Gaonyadiwe and Nondi Mahlasela.

Nkutlwisang had fielded a strong side comprising players that competed at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) in July this year.In a post-match interview, Nkutlwisang said she was awake to the fact that the visitors would want to spoil the Independence Day celebrations for The Mares, therefore she warned her players not to laze, but fight until the last whistle.

What made her grateful, she said, was that they won the match in the first half.

“Namibia came prepared in the second half and they were unleashing some attacks, thanks to my players they managed to contain them,” she said.

On one hand, she said she it was unfortunate that Botswna gave away a goal immediately after recess, something she attributed to the players’ lack of fitness given that they had been

inactive for a while.Brave Gladiators coach, Paulus Shipanga, acknowledged losing the match in the first half, saying The Mares’ 18th minute goal had unsettled his players.

“It is always difficult to come back especially when you are playing away. But we tried to fight in the second half, unfortunately we could not beat Botswana,” he said. Ivone Koope netted the Brave Gladiators’ sole goal.

However, the Brave Gladiators’ coach said he was happy with his team’s performance, considering that he had brought the youngsters that he wanted to test for readiness to play international games.

Be that as it may, Shipanga gave The Mares a pat on the back for their tactics and good display, adding he was impressed that they could knock the ball around.

“It is always nice to see the SADC region playing good football and when you have a squad like the Mares staying together for a long time you always get the best out of them,” he said. ENDS