05 Mar 2023

Premiership league rookies, Eleven Angels, have continued to slay giants in their warpath to prolong stay in top-flight league.

Angels’ 2-1 win over star-spangled Gaborone United on Saturday sent a strong message to all and sundry that the Francistown-based outfit was no pushover, particularly when playing at home.

The two goals scored in the 14th and 80th minutes ensured Lekgamu la Bananyana bagged the all-important three points and moved up from the bottom rung of the log to a more secure mid-table position.

Angels’ Kudzani Sibanda tapped in following a corner to give the home side the lead and only goal of the first half as all attempts to level matters by the money machine hit a snag.

GU forwards did not come to play ball, they misfired and were often-time wasteful up front although they enjoyed a lot of ball possession.

In the second stanza, GU continued to pile pressure on Eleven Angels and the tactical changes by coach, Pontsho Moloi to augment firepower failed to produce results as the home side continued to defend in numbers and close-up spaces to deny the defending champions chances scoring opportunities.

GU were forced to play long balls that went to waste as opposed to their traditional passing game.

In the 80th minute, Angels promising striker, Eric Ookame pounced on the ball following a defensive blunder by the visitors’ rear to slot a second for his side and solidify the victory.

The strike somewhat smashed the Money Machine’s hopes.

However, the champions salvaged a consolation goal during injury time through a snap header by Kennedy Amutenya.

Moloi said during a post-match interview that his side had not given up on the title chase yet and would still put up a gallant fight.

“We have done it before, we will do it again. We are not the reigning champions by fluke,” he said. 

For his part, Eleven Angels gaffer, Seemo Mpatane, said his side won the clash because they applied themselves against one of the top teams.

“We knew how they were going to approach the game and playing against the team that you know is easier than the team that you know nothing about. We knew we could not match them pound for pound in as far as ball possession is concerned, but we could not care less. Our primary concern was to bag the three points and we did,” he said, adding avoiding relegation remained Lekgamu la Bananyana primary pre-occupation. Ends