19 Nov 2013

Nico United walloped their be Mobile fellow competitor FC Satmos 3-1 in the Selebi Phikwe derby to win the town’s bragging rights as well as maximum points in the league encounter on Sunday, November 18.

The game played before a huge turnout was the first for new Nico mentor, Kenneth Mogae who joined the club last week on November 15. The club had parted ways with Zambian coach Elijah Chikwanda who has been with Nico for three seasons.

Mogae, who has been assistant coach for the senior national team, the Zebras, proved his mettle by restoring calm to Nico United which had been experiencing poor results lately by winning the derby against a flamboyant FC Satmos.

In a post-match interview, Mogae said it was brilliant to emerge victorious from the hardly contested match. "It is nice for the supporters as well as for me and the history of the two indicates that Nico has been dominant against FC Satmos, he said.

He commended his players and said, “I only had three training sessions with the club and the response is good as witnessed by the encounter and my duty is to try to secure safety for the club”.

Topo became the hero of the afternoon when he converted from a penalty spot to earn a brace moments before recess to ensure that his side lead the game 2-1. In the 85th minute, Gift Moyo’s strike was an icing on the cake that put the game far beyond the rivals reach. But Mogae hailed FC Satmos for being clever for the encounter.

“They forced us to play with one striker instead of two due to their persistent attack on us,” he said. However, he said the team still needed firepower upfront in order to compete and was concerned that some players were overweight hence the need to work on that aspect. Another need is for Nico to be discipline in the defence.

“Defenders need to pull up their socks to bridge balls in the box and we cannot allow goals similar to one scored by Satmos’ Sibanda,” he added. Nico has started the season on a bad note and the win has earned them 14 points from 11 encounters.

The loss has relegated FC Satmos to the fifth place having started the campaign well with 19 points equal to Gaborone United who occupies the fourth spot. ENDS