11 Oct 2016

BTC Premiership defending champions,  Township Rollers, started the 2016/17 season with a bang.

They clobbered Nico United 3-0 in Serowe on Sunday (October 9).

Rollers’ first goal came on the last minutes of the first half through Terrance Mandaza’s powerful header that gave Nico’s goal keeper, Gaolebale Karabo no chance.

A few minutes earlier, Karabo had made impressive saves that rendered Rollers’ efforts of an early goal futile.

He was, however, let down by his mates who seemed to lack cohesion and aggression inside opponent’s area.

The mining town boys squandered golden opportunities that could have at least given them a redeeming goal.

About 16 minutes into the second half, Mandaza caught Nico’s defense napping and made it a brace.

About 10 minutes later, Rollers’ new signee, Lemponye Tshireletso, converted through a powerful shot after receiving a decisive cross from Galabgwe Moyana.

Despite collecting maximum points with a convincing margin, Township Rollers coach, Mark Harrison, said in an interview that his side worried him because it still looked rusty.

Harrison attributed the team’s rustiness to the long league break, adding that, in any case, it was normal for teams to struggle at the start of a season.

“You can play 1 000 friendly games but they cannot compensate for competitive football games because the two settings are different in many respects,” he argued.

Regretting his team’s loss, Nico United’s Dean Muwiine, said the team lost a lot of players in the last transfer window.

“But I am confident that my team is gelling despite the loss; we will work hard to achieve positive results and no panic batons yet because this was our first game,” he assured. ENDS