25 Nov 2024

 Despite losing 4-3 in a thrilling First Divison North encounter against BR Highlanders at the Maun Sports Complex over the weekend, Sankoyo Bush Bucks assistant coach, Oris Salepito is hopeful that his team can bounce back in the remaining matches.

He expressed the disappointment in an interview that Sankoyo started the game well but gave away easy goals to their opponent, hence they lost the game.

Salepito also attributed their loss to the absence of regular players, saying they were forced to use inexperienced youngsters especially in defence and thus gave the visitors more room.

He said the young players could not match the competitive standard of the First Division League.

“Although my boys were not bad performance wise, it is only that our rivals were strong in attacking tactics hence they scored many goals. Their win will not demoralise our boys as we are aiming to secure a slot in the top four at the end of the season,” he added.

He said he believes they still stand a chance of bouncing back in the remaining games because it is their wish to see the Ngurungu boys returning to their glory days and be able to win games.

Salepito further said they have to go back to the drawing board and see how best they could iron out their challenges and assemble a strong squad, which would compete and bring the desired results and joy to supporters.

Sankoyo has played four games and won one and are sitting on position 11 in the log standings with three points.

Since relegating to the First Division League in 2019, Ngurungu has been struggling to retain quality players due to financial constraints and Salepito is happy with the squad they have, saying the boys are gifted and need support to meet expectations and perform to their best.

 He said they would renew their rivalry with Tsabotlhe on Saturday in Serowe.

On the other hand, BR Highlanders head coach, Wame Mokoke gave credit to his boys for displaying a sterling performance, saying collecting the maximum points away from home was a big achievement.

He said although the team was not aggressive through the entire game as expected, their opponents were very strong in the middle but expressed gratitude that his strikers were alert, hence they managed to win.

The win elevated BR Highlanders to the third spot in the log standings with seven points and Mokoke is hopeful that the boys would continue the winning streak in the remaining games as they aim to secure a slot in the elite Premier League next season.

Meanwhile, the game started on a low tempo as both teams were more relaxed and the visiting side managed to get an early goal in the third minute of the first half through Joseph Nkgoeng.

The striker remained an influential player and brought a calm, steady presence to the team and managed to score the second goal in the 33^rd minute, while on the other hand Kabelo Kanjimi of Sankoyo tormented their opponents’ defence and scored in the 39^th minute.

 After the recess, both teams made some substitutes who put up a dominant display but it was unfortunate as the host created many chances but failed to convert them.

BR Highlanders held on to the end and  managed to register a 4-3 win over Sankoyo.  ENDS