10 Sep 2018

 Botswana’s quest to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Cameroon has suffered a heavy blow after two successive defeats early in the campaign.

The Zebras suffered more woes when they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Angola in Luanda on September 9 to add to their loss against Mauritius in their opening Group I encounter. 

Jacinto Gelson Dala sealed the victory for Angola with a shot into the bottom corner of goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe’s posts midway through the first half.

Even though they staged a spirited fight-back and hit the post through striker Onkabetse Makgantai in the second half, the Zebras were not aggressive in the final third and couldn’t force an equalizer. 

This poor start to the qualifiers has condemned coach David Bright’s men to the bottom of the group with zero points, and no goals scored. 

Mauritania, which beat Burkina Faso 2-0 on September 8, lead the mini league standings with six points, followed by Burkina Faso and Angola in second and third positions respectively with three points each.

The Zebras had shown signs of improvement with some positive results this year which raised hopes that they could emulate Stanley Tshosane’s class of 2012 by reaching the continental showpiece tournament for only the second time in its history. 

Bright said in a media briefing last week that reaching the finals was a mission possible since two teams from each group would qualify for the 2019 tournament.

However, time to collect points is now running out and the next round of matches in mid-October when the team is set to play two successive away and home matches against Burkina Faso represents the last chance to resuscitate the campaign.khane will contest the position of treasure. ENDS