31 Jan 2017

Township Rollers coach, Mogomotsi Mpote, is wary of CAF Champions League opponents Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale Sport (CNaPS) of Madagascar.

Township Rollers are set to play in the CAF Champions League first leg in Madagascar on February 11.

Mpote told a press conference on Monday that CNaPS were a tough side having watched and analysed some of their previous games.

“They recently hosted Raja Casablanca and won 2-1 following a 5-1 loss away and that shows how competitive and tough CNaPS are. We have managed to study and analyse their match footages and that has come in handy for us since we will be playing against them,” he said.

He indicated that CNaPS possessed a strong side that comprised national team players who helped the Madagascar national side to do well.

Mpote added that their opponents were dangerous in attack and  short passes building up from the back with fast transition.

However, he said he was optimistic that his side would perform well and use experience from previous encounters in the CAF championship to their advantage.

On one hand, he said they were aware of the hostility that they might experience owing to past encounters with other African countries.

“Most of my  guys have been with the national team and they understand the situation. Even the young ones like Motsholetsi Sikele who once played in Gabon when he was with the Under 20,” he said.

Township Rollers president, Jagdish Shah announced that a contigent of 25 palyers would leave Botswana to Madagascar on February 10.

Shah revealed their hope was to reach the group stages, which he said would be a good thing because the objective was to represent Botswana well and put the country on the map.

He acknowleged, however, that playing in the CAF would present tremendous experience, especially for the players because they would be playing around Africa, adding

“it will also expose them to a different feel of football out there.”

On the team’s preparations for the encounter, Shah said they were ready and would do their best to bring back good results despite facing a good side.

He also indicated that CNaPS had won their domestic league four consecutive times, something he said they had put into consideration in their first leg encounter in Madagascar.ENDS