10 Mar 2024

It seems like it never rains, but pours for former elite league giants, Extension Gunners.

Just when many thought that coach Daniel Nare was steering Mapantsula the right way, off the pitch problems undo all the work.

This emerged on Saturday when Gunners fell to a 3-0 humbling by City Polar, with Nare indicating post-match interview that five of his regular players have gone AWOL.

“They reasoned that they have not been paid, but I have warned these players about this pattern of striking saying they needed money” he said.

Nare said that such a decision by his players was lame because all teams in the first division had financial problems.

“All these teams that we always lose to do not have money as well. Their players are equally not paid yet they never abscond. There is simply no money in Botswana football and first division is even worse,” he said.

Nare felt that his players needed to sacrifice and meet the team halfway. He said that despite all that, it was pity that all the blame would always fall on him as the coach.

The coach always said that such absconding has the potential to divide the team as loyal players would always feel unfairly done if he benched them when absconded ones come back.

He however said that they will have to go back and correct problems in the field of play ahead of their next game, including a regular conceeding pattern and lack of creativity upfront.

“At least if we created scoring chances and failed to convert them it would be a healthy problem, but currently we cannot even create. We also have a problem of conceeding unnecessarily, especially in the first half,” he said.

City Polar coach, Ofentse Mapeu, said that despite it all looking easy for his team, the game was actually tough.

“We won because we countered their strategy early enough. They planned to build from the back and force us to press high so that they could play the ball behind us but we survived,” he said.

Mapeu also said that incidents such as starting games late as was the case on Saturday was a norm in the division, hence could not throw his team off.

Even though he was cagey to state whether they were challenging for the league, Mapeu admitted that the win was vital for his team.

 “You never know what might happen at the end, and we have to keep pushing the players. So far so good because we have not lost any game this year so we have to keep that up,” he said.

With an average age of about 23, Mapeu said that the future of City Polar was bright provided big teams do not entice his players away.

City Polar’s win ensured they leapfrogged Union Flamengo Santos into position two with 27 points, four points behind log leaders Jwaneng Young Stars who won by a solitary goal away to Desert Nxau in Tsabong.

Santos were held to a one-all draw by Mochudi Centre Chiefs at Riverplate Elsewhere, Tlokweng United edged Notwane by a solitary goal home. ENDS