23 Nov 2024

Gaborone United left it until stoppage time to steal maximum points against Orapa United in the FNB Premiership on Friday.

Under the floodlights at the National Stadium, all present were already embracing the possibility of a draw until a deft back heel pass from Thabo Maponda found Thatayaone Kgamanyane, who slotted past The Ostriches shot-stopper, Lesenya Malapela from close range.

Maponda had earlier cancelled out a first half goal by 18-year old Kamogelo Moloi for The Ostriches.

In a post match interview, GU coach, Pontsho Moloi indicated that despite sweating for the points, his team was a clear favourite all along.

"We could even have scored more goals had it not been for our one-on-ones that either hit the crossbar or were saved, so I am very happy with the result and the general performance," he said.

He said looking at the way they controlled the game from the first half, they should even have wrapped it up much earlier. Moloi said their life was made tough because Orapa United kept a compact low block most of the game, which forced him to introduce players able to play in small spaces, a move he said helped in penetrating the defence of the opponent.

He facing a team of Orapa United's calibre immediately after the international break was always going to be difficult.

"We have been away for close to a full two weeks and I only had a session with the team a day before the game, so it was always going to be difficult.

For his part, Orapa United gaffer, Dimitar Pantev said despite the loss, the performance of his team was not bad.

He said their only challenge was that his players seemed to play too far apart from each other, thereby failing to link properly.

Pantev also said GU's winning goal could be attributed to a poor mistake by his players.

"However, this is part of football and we will continue to follow our strategy and philosophy and we should not lose the next match," he said.

He also indicated that the match was a much-needed experience for his young side, indicating that his squad was one of the youngest in the league.

"Today, we used players as young as 18, 20 and 21 years so this is a very good experience for us and we will see our reaction with the next match. We will just have to keep our strong mentality because even the best teams cannot win all the games," he said. Ends