04 Jul 2017

Great North Tigers (GNT) have survived the possibility of relegating to the dustier Division One regional football league and instead handed the honours to fellow Debswana First Division North (FDN) side Chobe United by thumping the Kasane side 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in Nata.

The two sides had to meet as per Botswana Football Association (BFA) Play Rules and Regulations to determine who remains in the Debswana FDN after Chobe gained soft points from their failed fixture against relegated Selibe Phikwe side, FC Satmos in the 2016/17 season, giving them a chance to jump GNT.

But since such points cannot be used to disadvantage GNT and force the Botswana Police Services backed side to be relegated, the two sides had to meet at a neutral ground to determine who remains in the country’s second top tier league.

Chobe, who brought a squad of 11 players to the game at Nata Primary School grounds on Saturday afternoon, played the game under protest, the details of which were not clear during the match.

Debswana FDN Committee secretary general, Rapula Gaothobogwe confirmed in an interview that the game was played under protest by Chobe, but they will have to wait for the side to pay the protest fee and put the protest in a formal letter.

“We will have to see the letter as well as to pick exactly why they played the game under protest. They have to do this within a period of seven days as per the play rules and regulations,” he noted.

Reports doing rounds at the game were that Chobe felt the referees used for the game came from Francistown together with GNT and therefore the Kasane side suspected that the match officials would be biased.

They are said to have argued that since the game was played in a neutral ground in Nata, referees for the match could have been sourced from Selibe Phikwe or elsewhere than Francistown, the home of GNT.

In the game, GNT under the tutelage of Edward ‘Pro’ Leposo as the gaffer showed much hunger and desire to remain in the Debswana FDN as the coach’s son, Thabo ‘Drogba’ Leposo and Gothusang Nkola made sure their side got the maximum points.

Nkola opened the score sheet on the 10th minute before Chobe’s John Mundia pulled one back on the 17th minute.

The young and lanky Leposo made his father a happy coach on the 20^th minute when he scored what turned out to be the winning goal before he was later sent out via a red card on the 65^th minute in the second half, after getting himself a second yellow card.

He had been deemed to have taken a dive inside the Chobe 16 yard area, trying to win a penalty for his side, something that earned him the marching orders and an early shower.

Chobe also had its captain Keabetswe Batunda also receiving a red card earlier in the 35^th minute of the first half, reducing his side to 10 men while GNT had a full squad before the second half sending off Leposo. ENDS