11 Oct 2015

The senior national football team, the Zebras are in a good position to proceed to the next round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers after beating the Red Sea Camels of Eritrea 2-0 in the first-leg match at Cicero Stadium in Asmara on Saturday (October 10).

Galabgwe Moyana and the team’s captain, Joel Mogorosi scored the Zebras’ two crucial away goals in the first and second halves respectively.

The two teams meet again in the second leg at the Francistown Sports Complex on Tuesday evening and the Zebras would need to work hard to avoid conceding two goals.

Should the Zebras manage to handle Red Sea Camels, they proceed to round two of the tournament where they will face the Eagles of Mali. In an interview, after the game, Mogorosi said winning against the Red Sea Camels was not easy given that their opponents were a closed book.

He attributed their victory to hard work and persistence, adding they also enjoyed the game after studying their opponents.

On playing the return leg in the shortest space of time, Mogorosi said though it may not be ideal, they still needed to work hard to get good results.

“We are playing them again tomorrow and honestly while it might not be good for our bodies, that should not be an excuse. 

It is our job and we have to play and get good results,” he said.

Mogorosi added that the moral in the Zebras camp was high following the 2-0 victory.

However, he said they had, as players, agreed to forget the Saturday win and focus on the task ahead. That, he said was important for the country to proceed to the second round. 

Meanwhile, some Zebras supporters were thrilled by the team’s good performance against Eritrea.

Paul Sebudala said for Moyana to have scored the first goal clearly indicated that the Zebras coach, Peter Butler did not undermine his opponents. He also said that showed coach Butler had planned well for the away game, hence the convincing two away goals.

 “When Butler arrived he made it clear that his mission was to build and he would use young players,” he said.

Susan Robert was also happy that the Zebras managed to beat Eritrea on their own home ground, saying it was never easy to win against a team in front of their twelfth player.

Robert was also happy that players, despite that they were fatigued, fought and represented the country with gusto, something she said should be celebrated by all Batswana.

However, she indicated that for the Zebras to continue to do well in the competition, they would need to be given all resources and support by all stakeholders. “I still fail to understand why they did not charter a flight because they are playing again tomorrow, don’t you think they will be tired?” she said. Ends